Pokemon Fruits Basket
by ShadowX-Over.Writer
Summary: Based off of the Fruits Basket story but using Pokemon characters. Crystal is your average 16 year old, when she stumbles onto the Sohma family's curse. Many different shippings, mostly mangaquestshipping. DISCONTINUED
1. The Beginning

I decided to delete the other Fruits Basket story because of the lack of responses and it made me lose interest in the topic, sorry if anyone particularly liked it. I'll be redoing it with a different twist to it this time. This time, I'm using characters from the Pokémon Special Manga. I've come to really like the characters and the relationships in it, better than the anime and I really wanted to make a story with them in it. Everyone has one partner Pokémon in this story and I'm using the ones that the characters originally started out with. Hope you enjoy! No flames please. If you don't like it, don't say anything.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, Fruits Basket, or this song_

**Pokémon Fruits Basket: The Beginning**

**_I was so happy_**

**_When you smiled at me_**

**_With a smile that melts away everything_**

**_Spring is still far away_**

**_And the cold earth is still wet_**

**_Was waiting for the day when the first grass sprouts_**

**_For instance, even today is painful_**

**_Even is yesterday's wounds are left behind_**

**_If I open up my heart that I want to believe in_**

**_I can't become someone else_**

**_But I can protect it_**

**_Let's stay together_**

**_Forever..._**

"Wow, it sure is sunny today."

A sixteen year old girl with shining crystal blue eyes was looking up at the sky from a forest.

She had dark blue hair that was bunched up in big pig tails and she also wore star shaped earrings.

Crystal Nagareboshi was standing out on her front porch, looking up at the clear blue sky.

"Bye mom!" Crystal called over her shoulder as a woman with dark blue hair came to the door.

"Have a good day, sweetie." her mother said as Crystal started towards school.

On her way to school, she looked over to the other side of the street to see an entrance to the large forest.

The forest seemed to have a very mysterious atmosphere surrounding it and it always perked Crystal's interest.

She glanced at her watch and looked up at the sky. 'I still have enough time to walk around. I've always wondered what was in it's a shortcut.'

Crystal looked around in awe at the beauty of the seemingly peaceful forest as a small breeze blew through her hair, giving her a soothing feeling.

Crystal had lost her father due to an illness when she was very young and was left with only her mother to take care of her. It had been rough at some points but managed to stay together and happy.

As Crystal walked down the dirt path, she spotted a house at the bottom of the hill.

"What's a house doing deep in the forest?" Crystal said curiously while raising an eyebrow.

She decided to investigate and slowly went down the hill before she got to the front of the house.

The sliding door was open and Crystal peeked inside, but decided it would be rude if she went inside and stayed outside on the porch.

'It seems so peaceful here.' Crystal thought to herself when something caught her eye.

She looked over to see an assortment of Pokémon ornaments on the front porch, basking in the sun.

There was a Pikachu, Tauros, Raikou, Lopunny, Gyarados, Arbok, Rapidash, Flaaffy, Infernape, Staraptor, Mightyena, and a Piloswine.

"Wow! These are so cute." Crystal said in awe.

"Eh?"

Crystal flinched and slowly looked up to see a man with dark blue hair that covered his right eye and also wore a blue robe with a light blue shirt on top. He also wore samurai looking pants and socks and had red and black wrist bands. He was currently holding a newspaper while looking at her puzzled. He also had a Hoothoot perched on his shoulder.

"I didn't think there would be anyone around here." the man said looking at her suspiciously.

"I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to barge in like this! I was just curious." Crystal stammered while waving her hands in front of her.

"Neh. I don't mind." the man said shrugging. "I just set those out to dry in the sun. I would assume kids like you would find these kinds of things boring though."

"Hoot! Hoot!" his Hoothoot hooted.

Crystal shook her head. "Not really. Those are really well made."

"I see. I'm glad you feel that way, since I'm fond of these myself." the man said as he sat by the ornaments and unfolded the newspaper he was holding.

"These represent the twelve Pokémon of the Chinese Zodiac, right?" Crystal said as the man looked up from his newspaper at her.

"Yeah. I thought I'd make those for fun." the man said.

"Oh! I heard of a story that went along with the Pokémon of the Chinese Zodiac. But, I thought there was also a Meowth." Crystal said as the man looked up at her in surprise. "I remember my mom telling me the story about how the Meowth was left out of the Zodiac when I was younger."

_"A long time ago, Arceus called all Pokémon together for a banquet. Before the banquet, the Pikachu decided to play a trick on the Meowth, saying that it would be granted good luck if it were to pull one Ninetails' nine tails. Believing this, the Mewoth went over to the Ninetails and pulled on of its tails. Enraged, Ninetails cast a 1000 year curse on the Meowth, causing it to be unable to attend the banquet. On the day of the banquet, the Pikachu rode on the Tauros' back and arrived in front of the meeting place. After that, the Raikou, the Lopunny, and so forth had a fun time there until morning, except for the Meowth, who was ashamed of its curse to attend."_

Crystal remembered how she always felt sorry for the Meowth. But now she knew it was just folklore and wasn't too crazy about the story anymore.

"Heh. I wonder what he'll think when **_he _**hears this." the man said with a small smirk.

"Who?" Crystal asked, overhearing the man's statement.

"Nevermind." the man said as he continued reading his newspaper.

"Hey, Falkner... Oh, I didn't know we had a visitor."

Crystal looked over and gasped when she saw a boy with spiky black hair and red eyes and also wore a kind smile.

"Good morning, Nagareboshi-san." the boy said curtly.

"R-Red Sohma?" Crystal cried in shock, seeing how she found out where Red Sohma lived, her high school's "prince".

"You know her?" Falkner asked as Red nodded.

"Yeah, though we're not in the same class." Red said.

"By the way, my name is Falkner Sohma. Red-kun's distant cousin." Falkner introduced himself.

"Oh, pleased to meet you. I'm Crystal Nagareboshi." Crystal said bowing. "But you could call me Crys for short."

"Nagareboshi-san, what are you doing in a place like this?" Red asked curiously.

"Ah, well, I was always pretty curious about this forest and I wanted to take a look." Crystal said.

Red gave a surprised expression while Falkner nodded slightly as Crystal glanced at her watch and realized she should hurry to school.

"Well, I'd better be going now. It was nice meeting you." Crystal said bowing before starting to walk off.

"Hey, Nagareboshi-san." Red called.

"Hai?" Crystal said looking over her shoulder.

Red just smiled. "Shall we go together?"

Crystal just stared at him blankly. "Eh?"

* * *

"L-O-V-E-M-E! Red!" three fan girls exclaimed while posing for Red. (the three fan-girls are all OC's since I couldn't find anyone who matched fangirl descriptions)

But Red just walked right by them without acknowledging them with Crystal walking beside him, much to their shock.

"AHHHH!" the fan girls cried.

* * *

"Nagareboshi-san! Explain yourself!" a girl with blue eyes and had black hair that was tied up into long flowing pig-tails.

Crystal sweatdropped while taking a few steps back as she was being confronted by her school's Red-fan club members.

"Yes! Why were you coming to school with Sohma-kun? Explain!" another girl demanded who had short pink hair and amber eyes.

"It was just a coincidence." Crystal said.

"Well for your sake, that's all it was!" the third girl said who had long violet hair that was tied up in a long ponytail with a red bow on the top and also had pink colored eyes.

"The fact that there are no girls who don't understand 'Kanto high, Junior, Class A, Red Sohma' shows that he truly is amazing." the black haired girl said.

"Is a super genius!" the pink haired girl said with stars in her eyes.

"Is a super athlete!" the violet haired girl said with a dreamy look on her face.

"Even we, who are members of his fan club, aren't able to get close to him!" the black haired girl said while giving Crystal a smug look.

Crystal was getting annoyed by the fangirls' attitudes and was just about ready to give them a piece of her mind, when suddenly she felt a tug on her arm.

"Leave her alone! She said it was just coincidence!" a girl with blond hair that was tied up into a long ponytail and had amber eyes said coming to Crystal's side.

"Stay out of this shortie!" the black haired girl shouted, causing the girl to shrink behind Crystal.

"I-I'm sorry..." she mumbled as Crystal sweatdropped.

"Yellow..." Crystal sighed.

Suddenly, a girl with short black hair with a white bow and cold dark blue eyes came up and looked at the fangirls with a dark, expressionless look.

"She said it was a **coincidence**." Marley said sternly, causing the fangirls to get a little creeped out, before they high-tailed it out of there.

"Thanks, Yellow, Marley." Crystal said with a relieved smile.

"Are you okay, Crystal?" Yellow asked in concern as Crystal nodded.

* * *

During cooking class, Crystal was thinking about her walk with Red.

"Sohma-san is so popular; it felt weird walking by his side like that." Crystal mumbled to herself. "But I wasn't able to have much of a conversation with him."

"He **_is _**kind of strange." Marley said while cutting a fish.

Crystal thought about if for a moment and realized that Red did act a little out of the ordinary.

"Well, he does seem very secretive, that's for sure. And he doesn't really talk about himself, either." Yellow asked while stirring the stew. "Before this, when a senior girl asked him out and tried to get near him, he pushed her away. She must have been shocked."

"It's strange that there would be a person who puts up a barrier like that these days." Marley said as she put down a bowel of rice in front of Crystal.

"Thanks." Crystal said as she tasted the rice.

"Hey Crystal, did you find another family to stay with for your class project yet?" Yellow asked as Crystal's head drooped as a look of hopelessness came over her face.

Yellow sweatdropped. "I'll take that as a no."

"Do you know how hard it is to ask someone 'can I join your family for a few weeks?' A little embarrassing if you ask me." Crystal let out a sigh of exasperation. (Each student is given a different project)

"You could always stay with me and my uncle." Yellow offered as Crystal shook her head.

"You and your uncle live in an apartment; I couldn't burden you like that. Besides, I know how all your families operate."

"Make sure you pick a good family." Marley said.

"If I can find one, that is. And I'm not going to fail this project." Crystal said.

"Crystal, don't you have to work part-time today?" Yellow asked.

"Yes, that's right." Crystal said.

Yellow sighed. "Crystal you've been working so hard for as long as I can remember. Don't you think you should slow down?"

Crystal shook her head. "If I want to get into a good college, I have to be willing to work hard."

"Just don't overdo it again." Marley said.

Crystal let out a sigh but nodded.

* * *

After Red closed his locker, he looked over and was surprised to see Crystal standing there.

"I just came here to say thank you for this morning." Crystal said.

"Oh, no problem. Why don't we walk home together?" Red said.

'Oh boy...' Crystal said to herself.

"I hope Falkner wasn't rude to you. He can be a little downcast at times." Red said while walking with Crystal.

Crystal shook her head. "No, he was kind enough to let me see those Pokémon figurines of the Chinese Zodiac."

"You mentioned something about the Meowth, right? The one in the folklore of how the Pokémon Chinese Zodiac came to be?" Red asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" Crystal asked curiously.

"How do you feel about that Meowth?" Red asked facing forward.

"When I was little, I guess I felt kinda sorry for it. But it's just a story, I know it didn't actually happen so..."

"Well, then I guess you won't mind me saying that that Meowth was an idiot."

Crystal looked up at Red in shock. Did Red really just say that?

Red was still not facing her as he continued. "Meowths are idiots... They have bad qualities."

"The Chinese Zodiac contains twelve Pokémon and twelve alone. It's balanced as it is. If another was put into it, it would be put out of balance. Originally it was used as a numeric device or as a watch... Afterwards, it became a form of fortune telling. It had nothing to do with Pokémon. Although I'm not too sure myself how and when Pokémon got involved in the story. But Meowths never belonged in the Zodiac from the beginning." Red said the last part quite bitterly.

"Do you really hate Meowths that much?" Crystal asked, a little taken aback from what Red had just told her.

Red turned around quickly with a smile on his face that Crystal didn't understand which made her a little uneasy at how quiet he was for a moment as the wind blew leaves all around them.

He then reached out and caught one of the falling leaves and spun it by the stem.

"Well, it was nice talking to you. See you tomorrow." Red said with a smile before turning and walking away while tossing the leaf to the ground.

Crystal stood staring after Red in shock, not really understanding what just happened.

'He really **_is _**secretive...' Crystal thought before continuing her way to work.

At the lab, Crystal got all the Pokémon test results and placed them on a desk.

After she did that, she swept all of the floors and checked on all of the Pokeballs that were in the storage room.

"Crystal, how is it going?" a man in a lab coat with graying hair asked coming into the room.

"I'm almost done, Prof. Oak. I just need to clean the windows, run a few more tests, and..." Crystal said before Prof. Oak cut her off.

"Now, now, you've been working hard all afternoon. Why don't you go home a rest up." Prof. Oak said putting a hand on her shoulder.

Crystal looked down before nodding. "Okay..."

* * *

"Ugh. If I eat this much everyday, I'll need a new robe." Falkner said rubbing his stomach while walking through the forest with Red towards the house as the sun started to set.

"We should make the food ourselves next time." Red said.

"Yeah, but you always complain about my cooking."

"If pickled radish goes in my curry, of course I'm going to complain."

"You're smart, Red, but you like such spicy and salty food. Besides, you always end up burning any dish you try to make." Falkner said as Red sweatdropped.

Falkner stopped and looked over too to see Crystal rushing through the forest.

"Nagareboshi-san?" Red said in surprise.

Crystal glanced at her watch as she hurried her way through the forest. 'Shoot! Mom's going to be home soon and it's my turn to cook.'

As she ran through the forest, she failed to notice a couple of glowing eyes watching her from the shadows.

Suddenly a swift figure shot out from the bushes and landed in front of Crystal.

Crystal gasped as a growling Houndoom stalked towards her, a scar evident on its face.

"E-Easy there, I'm only trying to get home." Crystal said backing up slowly.

The Houndoom snapped at her before leaping towards her, barring its fangs.

Crystal turned and ran as fast as she could, but the Houndoom was clearly faster and gave chase towards her.

The Houndoom pushed off the ground with sheer power, tackling Crystal in the back, sending her flying forward and off the edge of a steep ledge.

"AAHHHHHHH!" Crystal cried as everything started going hazy.

Before she lost consciousness she could have sworn she heard a electric attack being cast and a sharp howl of pain followed.

* * *

"Ah!" Crystal cried as she snapped her eyes open to find herself in a brightly lit room.

"W-Where am I...?" Crystal mumbled.

"Ah, you're awake. Good."

Crystal turned to her side to see Falkner sitting next to her.

"Where am I?" Crystal asked.

"You're at my house. A Houndoom had attacked you and knocked you off a steep ledge. You really shouldn't be wandering around the forest alone. It's pretty dangerous especially at night with wild Pokemon wandering around as well as some shady characters. The ground in this area is weak as well so it's prone to have some landslides." Falkner explained. "What were you doing out there in the first place?"

"Well, I was using the forest as a shortcut to get back home. I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble." Crystal said as she tried to stand up but felt a sharp pain in her ankle and collapsed back down on the mattress.

"Easy there, you twisted your ankle after the fall you took and you have several bruises. Be thankful that nothing was broken." Falkner said putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh good, you're okay."

Crystal looked up to see Red come into the room with a tray.

"Here, I'll help wrap your ankle." Red said as he bent over and gently wrapped Crystal's ankle with a cloth.

"T-Thank you." Crystal said blushing slightly as Red nodded. "By the way, what did happen to that Houndoom that had attacked me?"

"Don't worry, we took care of it. Just be careful next time you take a 'shortcut.'" Red said as Crystal's cellphone suddenly rang.

"Hello?... What?" Crystal gasped as Falkner and Red exchanged worried glances.

Crystal hung up and tried to run towards the door but collapsed due to her sprained ankle. "Mom!"

"Nagareboshi-san!" Red called coming forward.

"I'll go get a heat pad." Falkner said as he opened a sliding door that led to the kitchen, only to find a giant trash dump, making Falkner sweatdrop.

"Ah..." Falkner said with a bleak expression.

"Have you two ever heard of cleaning?" Crystal said sheepishly as Red carefully helped her up.

"We just never get around to it..." Falkner said squinting at the dump.

"What's going on, Nagareboshi-san?" Red asked.

"My mom... She... She got into an accident! I have to go see her!" Crystal cried.

"In your current condition, the best thing to do is rest." Falkner said as tears started forming in Crystal's eyes.

"But-!"

He came over to Crystal and put a hand on her shoulder. "You can go see her tomorrow. But right now, you need to rest. You're mother would be worried about you if she found out you got hurt."

Crystal looked down at the ground before nodding as Red looked at her in concern.

He then glanced over to Crystal's bag and noticed a piece of paper sticking out of it slightly.

* * *

"Right now, Red-kun is looking for some medical herbs." Falkner said by Crystal's bedside in the house.

"I'm sorry..." Crystal mumbled under the bed sheets.

Falkner shook his head. "Don't be, just be a little more careful next time."

"But mom..."

"What about your father?" Falkner asked.

"... He died when I was really young. My mom is the only family I have left..." Crystal said closing her eyes.

Falkner's hard expression softened. "Is it painful?"

"No... There have been more painful things in my life." Crystal said subconsciously.

"Like what?" Falkner prodded.

"... Seeing my mom struggle to raise me all by herself... Working so hard at her job everyday to make sure to sustain our family... Watching her suffer alone..." Crystal said as Falkner listened intently to what she had been bottling up for a while now.

"That's why... I'm trying my hardest to keep up perfect grades so I can get a scholarship to go to college and why I have a job. So that I could pay my own tuition. My mom has been so supportive through all of it..." Crystal said before drifting off to sleep.

Falkner looked down at her with an unreadable expression as he listened to the wind blow outside.

"That's pretty amazing."

Falkner looked over to see Red holding an ice-pack.

"No wonder she studies so hard at school. She's usually in the library doing homework of reports. I hardly ever see her just having fun with her friends. Who knew she was suffering so much underneath it all." Red said with a grave expression.

Falkner chuckled. "To call it 'amazing' would be rude to Crys."

Red smiled and looked over at Crystal's sleeping figure. "That's true."

"I'm going out for a bit."

"Where are you going?" Falkner asked as Red held up a piece of paper.

"To the hospital." Red said with a smile.

Falkner looked at him in surprise before nodding. "Hurry along. Visiting hours are almost up."

OOOOOOO

Crystal dreamt of lying in her mother's lap as her mother petted her head, telling her to never give up.

_"... Just do your best, Crystal.."_

Crystal opened her eyes with a start and sat up in her bed and was surprised to see an envelope sitting on top of the blankets.

"What's this?" Crystal mumbled while rubbing the sleep from her eye.

"Ah, you're awake. Good morning."

Crystal looked up to see Red smiling at her from the sliding doorway, holding a piece of paper with his Poliwhirl at his side.

"How are you feeling?" Red asked.

"Uh, yeah... What's that you're holding?" Crystal asked, still slightly sleepy.

Red handed her the paper and widened her eyes in shock to see that it was the permission slip for her class project.

"I talked some things over with Falkner," Red said as Crystal looked at him with an expression of disbelief. "Even though this house is dirty and there are only males, there's an empty room upstairs."

"I also went to the hospital to visit your mother and she said it was okay with letting you stay here for your project. Since it seems like you couldn't find another house to stay at." Red said.

Crystal stood up in shock before shaking her head.

"I can't possibly do that!" Crystal cried.

"There are locks on the doors." Red reassured.

"No, no, it's not that! It's just..." Crystal said.

"You don't mind doing housework, do you?" Falkner said suddenly coming up from behind her with a stoic expression.

"Wha?" Crystal jumped.

"For example, cleaning and cooking?" Falkner asked folding his arms.

"No... I don't mind..." Crystal said sweatdropping.

Falkner took the permission slip from Crystal's hands and signed it.

"Welcome to the Sohma home." Falkner said with a straight face, handing Crystal back the permission slip. "Later today, you can get your things and we'll help you move in."

"HOOT! HOOT!" Hoothoot chirped happily.

"You can't seriously be doing this. I mean, it's like I'm intruding and..." Crystal said as Red waved a hand.

"Nagareboshi-san, we're doing this because we want to, so don't think you're intruding on anything," Red said. "On top of that, you don't have another place to go, right?"

"Well, that's true... but after those three weeks are up, I'll move right out!" Crystal said.

"Deal." Red said with a smile.

"Is it really okay for a girl to stay here?" Falkner asked as he walked around the house to the room Crystal would be staying in.

"I wouldn't worry. Nagareboshi-san doesn't seem like the clingy type." Red said.

"Whatever you say." Falkner said, still not too reassured.

As the two walked past a certain tree, they failed to notice someone standing in it, watching them with a grin.

* * *

'I never though of myself being in this position. Ending up living in Red Sohma's home.' Crystal thought to herself as Red showed her her room.

"It's definitely moldy because the room has been shut tight for a long time." Red said while opening a window. "It'd be a good idea to keep the windows open for now."

Crystal suddenly heard a crackling noise coming from above her and glanced up to see cracks forming on the ceiling.

"Uh, Red-" Crystal was cut off when someone suddenly came crashing through the ceiling, sending plaster and wooden boards flying everywhere.

Red whirled around to see rubble come crashing down as Crystal backed up against the wall.

Downstairs, some rubble fell from the ceiling, making Falkner look up from his reading.

"Hm?" Falkner mumbled sheepishly.

Back upstairs, as the dust cleared Crystal noticed a boy about her age with an Aipom on his shoulder land in the middle of the floor from the giant hole in the ceiling.

"Yo!" the boy said with a cocky grin as he cracked his neck while facing Red. "I was getting tired of waiting for you mouse-boy. Let's go!"

"Oo-aw! Oo-aw!" the Aipom said with a bring-it-on look on its face.

The boy had messy black hair with his bangs jutting out in front. He was wearing a baggy black shirt and yellow pants with a black stripe along the sides. He also wore a pair of goggles around his neck. (There's a reason why he doesn't have his cap, it's not because I forgot it)

Crystal also noticed he had shining golden eyes that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.

"Why must you break things whenever you come?" Red said glancing up at the hole in the ceiling as a mad-mark appeared over the other boy's head.

"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT! 'Cause I'm about to wipe that stupid smirk of yours right off your face!" the boy shouted as he lunged towards Red, winding up to punch.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Crystal said coming forward, but accidentally tripped over one of the fallen wooden boards.

The boy looked around too late to see Crystal fall on his back as Red gasped.

"AHH!" the boy cried as a small explosion erupted and a puff of smoke came out of no where, causing Aipom to go flying.

"Red-kun, what were those crashing sounds just now? It's not Gold, is it?" Falkner said coming into the doorway with a dull expression on his face.

"Gomen! But you really shouldn't fight and... Hm?" Crystal said as she noticed something strange as she lifted up her arms.

She looked up to see that she was holding up a Meowth, who did not look happy in the least.

"WAH! What just happened? What is this?" Crystal cried in shock as she shook the Meowth back-and-forth in disbelief at what just happened.

"Hold on... Let us explain..." Falkner said as Red glared at the Meowth with a mad-mark over his head.

"We should take him to the Pokémon Center! Yeah! They'll know what happened to him!" Crystal said causing the Meowth to sweatdrop as a loose wooden board fell from the ceiling.

It hit Crystal directly on the top of her head, causing her to fall forward, right into Falkner and Red.

"Oh dear..." Falkner said as two more small explosions occurred as smoke engulfed the room.

Crystal blinked dully for a few seconds before noticing a Pikachu and a small Staraptor in Red and Falkner's place.

After staring at them for a moment, Crystal felt dizzy and put a hand to her forehead.

'I must be dreaming... Everyone is turning into Pokémon!' Crystal shouted to herself.

"Sir! The strange signals have appeared again!"

"Is it coming from the Sohma family property?"

"Yes sir."

"Hmm... Interesting. Continue your investigation."

"Roger."

"I want to know exactly what the Sohmas are hiding."

**To be continued...**

* * *

I decided to make a Pokémon version of Fruits Basket because I have really come to love the characters in the Pokémon Special Manga and I couldn't seem to fit them in my other fanfics, so I'll put them in their own fic. Hope you've enjoyed it so far. I'm trying to make it a little more exciting than the original Fruits Basket story, where it's mostly drama. Please Review!

Nagareboshi means "shooting star" which I thought was a perfect last name for Crystal.


	2. Secret of the Sohmas

Next chapter!

**Characters:**

**Crystal Nagareboshi - 16 years old (10th grade)  
Red Sohma - 17 years old (11th grade)  
Gold Sohma - 16 years old (10th grade)  
Falkner Sohma - 25 years old  
Yellow De Viridian Grove - 16 years old (10th grade)  
Marley Makkuro - 16 years old (10th grade)**

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or the theme of this story._

**The Secret of the Sohmas**

"What in the world is going on? Somebody help!" Crystal cried as she rand down the stairs carrying the Meowth, the Staraptor, and the Pikachu in her arms.

As she came down the stairs, the mailman opened up the door to deliver the mail with a Delibird next to him.

"Mr. Postman, it's terrible! They're all Pokémon!" Crystal cried as she held them up to the mailman.

"Ah, yes they are. Here's your mail." the mailman said with a smile as he handed Crystal the mail.

"No, no, no! You don't understand!" Crystal cried as she dropped all of the Pokémon in her arms, causing them to pile up on each other.

The Staraptor got up and went over to the mailman and took the mail from him into its beak without a word.

The mailman and Crystal looked at the Staraptor in surprise for a moment before the mailman just chuckled and patted it on the head.

"Heh, wish my Pokémon was that bright." the mailman chuckled as the Delibird glared at him.

"Good day." the mailman said tipping his hat and closed the door behind him.

Crystal put her hand to her head again. 'I must be dreaming. I have to be dreaming. There's no way that someone could-'

"Dammit!"

Crystal looked over her shoulder to see the Meowth on all four legs with the fur standing up on its back while glaring at the Pikachu and Staraptor.

"How can I make up an excuse if you guys transform too?" the Meowth shouted.

"Don't pin the blame on us for your stupid actions, you stupid cat!" the Pikachu shot-back while on top of Poli's head.

"Go ahead! Say that again!" the Meowth shouted as Aitaro tried to calm him down.

"**_Stupid cat_**." the Pikachu repeated.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-!"

"Cut it out, both of you!" the Staraptor shouted, spreading out its wings, causing the Pikachu to fall off Poli's head in shock.

'They can talk..?' Crystal watched in utter bewilderment feeling dizzier by the moment.

The Staraptor let out a sigh as the Meowth stood in a corner hissing at them.

"Well, I guess there's no point in hiding it now. Might as well tell her the truth. Crys, I'm a Staraptor. Red-kun, he's a Pikachu." Falkner said as Red climbed back up onto Poli's head.

Falkner looked over at the Meowth, who had his back to them and a mad-mark was pulsing on his shoulder.

"That's Gold Sohma, who is cursed by the Meowth's vengeful spirit."

"Vengeful spirit?" Crystal repeated.

"Yes, for several hundred years, the Sohma family has been possessed by the twelve Pokémon of the Chinese Zodiac. We are granted the Pokémon's powers in this form and we can communicate with the Pokémon of the same species, such as birds to birds and dogs to dogs. If our bodies become weak, or hugged by someone of the opposite gender, we transform. After a while, we will automatically transform back, but-"

Before Falkner could finish, several explosions occurred.

"We're naked." Falkner said after transforming back into his human form.

"EEEEEEEEEEKKKKK!" Crystal shrieked as she turned the other way due to three naked boys were standing in the room.

OOOOOOO

"Sorry about that. You must have been very surprised by that." Falkner said, now fully clothed and was sitting at a small table facing Crystal.

"... All right, but... warnings come a little sooner." Crystal mumbled, still a bit bewildered at what happened.

'Cursed by the Juunishi's vengeful spirits... This is all really hard to believe...' Crystal thought to herself. 'So that's why Red pushed that girl away because he didn't want her to find out his secret!'

"So Crys, how do you feel about the Meowth now?" Falkner whispered.

"Excuse me?" Crystal said.

"I mean, now that you've met the real thing?" Falkner asked pointing at Gold, who was sitting with his back facing them on the porch and his Aipom sitting next to him, looking up at its trainer in concern.

Crystal looked over at him questionably and widened her eyes in realization.

'Wait a second... He's the Meowth just like in the story!'

"Yep, he's the Meowth. But he's not very bright, considering how he just let you fall on him like that." Falkner said glancing over at Gold as a mad-mark appeared on his head.

"He's been practicing martial arts for most of his life. You'd think he would be able to sense your aura or something. He really is a stupid." Falkner said as Gold's shoulders started shaking in anger and the mad-mark on his head got bigger.

His Aipom looked like it was getting nervous, but Falkner kept going.

"Embarrassing, truly embarrassing." Falkner said as Gold stood up abruptly and whirled around to face him, his golden eyes burning with rage.

"Would you shut up? I can't help it if I didn't know! If you want to blame someone for this, blame her!" Gold shouted pointing at Crystal. "She shouldn't even be here!"

Crystal felt herself get angry. 'Who does this guy think he his? Breaking through the roof and pinning the blame on me?'

She then noticed the black and white beads on his wrist. 'Why would I guy be wearing something like that?'

"Leave her out of this." Red said, snapping Crystal out of her trance. "Who we let into this house is really none of your business. Besides, you're the one who doesn't belong here!" Red said harshly.

A dangerous expression crossed over Gold's face before he plunged his fist through the table.

The end of the table flew up and hit Crystal right in the forehead.

Gold gasped, realizing his mistake as blood dripped down Crystal's face.

"Oh no. Crys, you're bleeding. Hoothoot, go get some bandages." Falkner said as Hoothoot nodded before flying out of the room in a hurry.

Red stood up and punched Gold across the face, making Crystal gasp in surprise.

"I knew Gold was reckless with his temper, but I didn't expect this much." Falkner said as Hoothoot brought back a pack of bandages and cotton balls.

"For bringing someone into this, I'm going seriously on you today." Red said as Gold wiped some of the blood on the side of his face with the back of his hand.

Red cracked his neck as Poli came to his side. "You better not bore me."

"Alright, smart ass! Aitaro, let's go!" Gold shouted as Aitaro jumped onto his shoulder before Gold lunged towards Red.

"Aitaro, use Fury Swipes!"

Aipom jumped off of Gold's shoulder over at Red, its tail ready to attack.

"Red!" Crystal cried as Falkner had her face him as he dabbed at her wound with the cotton ball, causing her to wince.

"Don't worry. They're fights go way back, than just today. They really don't get along and when they see each other, they start fighting." Falkner explained while tending Crystal's wound.

Red dodged Aitaro's attack and had Poli use Bubblebeam.

Aitaro jumped back onto Gold's shoulder before Gold tried to punch Red, but Red dodged them quite easily, seeing through his every move.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Crystal asked as Falkner placed a band-aid on her head.

"It's okay. It'll all be over in a second." Falkner said turning around.

Gold's punches and kicks met air again and again as did Aitaro's attacks while Red and Poli continued dodging them.

Red suddenly got under Gold's defenses and he and Poli both punched Gold in the gut, sending him crashing through the sliding door and out onto the ground with a loud thud.

"I thought this time I'd get more of a challenge." Red said putting his hands on his hips.

"He sent him flying..." Crystal said in shock.

"Red-kun, please don't destroy the house." Falkner said with a sheepish expression.

"I didn't know he would go flying that far. It's impossible for him to win without any guard." Red said innocently while brushing off the dirt from his shirt. "Nagareboshi-san, how's your wound?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Crystal said as she looked over at the fallen Gold, who was still laying face-down on the ground. "But what about him?"

"I wouldn't worry about him. All that's been hurt is his ego." Falkner said as Gold pushed himself off the ground with a look of disgust on his face.

"Aw, he ruined the garden." Red said noticing a few crushed flowers.

'He's worried more about the garden...?' Crystal thought as she looked over at Red. 'Red really is strong. Just like knight in shining armor I guess. I knew he was good at all kinds of sports, but it's different from this. He's really different at school.'

Suddenly, realization hit her.

"OH NO! SCHOOL! I'm late! I'm late!" Crystal cried as she raced to her room and got her book bag and raced back down.

"But your uniform is still dirty." Falkner said with a dull expression.

Crystal paused and looked down at her uniform and saw that it was indeed muddy from her collapsing in the dirt last night.

"I can just say I tripped!" Crystal said.

"I highly doubt anyone would get **_that _**dirty from just tripping." Falkner said as Red sweatdropped with a nervous smile.

"But I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't overlook school." Crystal said.

"Well, don't let me stop you then. A promise is a promise." Falkner said putting up a hand. "Which reminds me, I have to tell the head of the family about all that happened this morning."

Red glanced at Falkner in shock, before narrowing his eyes at him.

"Head of the family? Then, he must be very important, right?" Crystal said.

"He is to us at least. And we did just give away the big Sohma secret." Falkner said looking to the side with his hands on his hips.

This gesture slightly bothered Crystal, but decided to overlook it for the time being.

"I'll be back later!" Crystal called over her shoulder as she rushed out the door.

After Crystal left, Red glared over at Falkner. "So that's why you were so openly talking about us."

"Hm?" Falkner grunted looking at Red from the corner of his eye.

"You're planning on erasing Nagareboshi-san's memories, aren't you? Just like before?" Red said in disgust.

Falkner sighed. "It wasn't **_my _**intention. We had no choice; there were too many people then."

"I need to go to school too." Red looked over at Gold, who was still lying on the ground. "Remember to fix the roof, stupid cat."

Gold didn't say a word as Red gathered his things and walked out the door.

"Hey, Gold. Watch the house while I'm gone. And think about apologizing to Crys later." Falkner said.

"... Just shut up." Gold muttered.

OOOOOOO

"Phew, I'm so glad I was able to use the washing machine here." Crystal sighed in relief while wearing her P.E. uniform.

"Your clothes were awfully dirty. How did you fall?" Yellow asked in concern.

Suddenly, Red's little fan-club popped out of no where.

"So, Nagareboshi-san, why did you do the laundry? You looked better with those dirty clothes!" Nina, the blacked hair girl laughed and Saki, the pink haired girl, and Luna, the violet haired girl, then joined in.

All three of them suddenly flinched then looked over to see Marley staring at them with an emotionless stare.

Without another word, the three of them quickly retreated as Marley came over.

"They seem to be extra suspicious considering 'The Prince' also came late." Marley said as she glanced after the fan club. "But if you ask me, they're just being plain annoying."

Crystal nodded in agreement. "They need a life."

"But why do they keep attacking you for it?" Yellow asked looking up at Crystal innocently.

Crystal chuckled nervously. 'I can't tell them that I'm actually staying at Red's house... Or else things might spiral out of control.'

"I'm going to go change. I'll see you guys later." Crystal said to Yellow and Marley before rushing off towards the dressing room.

After Crystal came out of the girl's changing room, someone called her name and she looked around to see Red with a troubled expression.

"Red?" Crystal said in surprise.

"You didn't tell your friends about our situation, did you?" Red asked urgently.

"Of course not. I wouldn't tell others about others' private lives." Crystal said reassuringly.

"That's not it." Red said putting up a hand.

"No, I'm serious. I would never do anything so low-"

"That's not what I meant!" Red shouted, shocking Crystal as he looked away.

"I'm sorry. I know you're doing your best to keep our secret... But, we might have to erase your memory despite that." Red said refusing to make eye-contact with Crystal.

Crystal widened her eyes in shock as he continued.

"It's more like Hypnosis, which tricks you into thinking what happened didn't happen. But a long time ago, there was a time when the secret was exposed just like this morning." Red said closing his eyes, remembering what had happened. "When I was seven, I was playing around the garden at our house with all of my friends and I forgot to be careful around girls. After that, we had to erase all of those children's memories."

_"Cyrus, am I strange? Am I that strange that we have to hide it?"_

_"Of course. A human who turns into a Pikachu, normal people aren't like that. Normal people would be disgusted. They would shun you from their world."_

"Red? Is something wrong?"

Red snapped out of his trance and looked up at Crystal, who was looking at him in concern.

"Are you all right?" Crystal asked.

Red was silent for a moment before nodding and looked away again. "Yeah... But I can't go against Cyrus' decision."

"Is that the name of the head of the family?" Crystal asked as Red nodded slowly.

"I can't go against any decision that he makes so... I'm sorry." Red said as he started walking away.

"W-Wait!" Crystal called as she reached out to him, but accidentally tripped over her own feet and fell on his, making him transform.

"I'm sorry! I didn't do it on purpose! I'm so stupid!" Crystal leaning her head against the wall while sobbing anime-style.

"It's okay. Nobody else saw." Red said calmly as a Pikachu.

Crystal turned back around as she kneeled down in front of Red. "Thanks for worrying about me. I realize now how important you secret is and that if something like this happened, you would have to report it to the head of the family. There's nothing we can do about it. Do whatever makes you feel secure."

Pikachu looked at her with a touched expression as Crystal smiled. (I don't know how to describe that eye vibrating thing they do in a heartfelt moment)

'I don't like the idea of having my memory suppressed, but there really is nothing I can do about it. But I'm glad they accepted me when I really needed it.' Crystal thought.

"But when I lose my memory, can we still be friends?" Crystal asked.

Pikachu looked at her in shock, touched by her words, when suddenly an explosion occurred and he transformed back to his normal self.

Crystal let out a shriek and quickly turned around as Red quickly got his clothes back on.

"Sorry, the amount of time when we change back varies a little." Red said with an embarrassed smile.

Crystal giggled. "Red, your tie is on crooked."

"Huh? Oh, I've never been really good at this sort of thing." Red said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head.

"That's surprising. But here, let me help." Crystal said as she went up to him and helped him with his tie.

Red looked at her in surprise as Cyrus' words echoed through his head.

_"You're a freak. They'd be disgusted. They'd leave you."_

"Nagareboshi-san... It really didn't bother you to see..." Red muttered.

"No offense, but I really don't like seeing guys naked." Crystal said.

"That's not what I was talking about..." Red said with a sweatdrop then smiled. "Why don't we walk home together?"

"Sure." Crystal said as they started walking down the hallway.

Red recalled Crystal's words in his head as he glanced at her.

_"But when I lose my memory, can we still be friends?" _

"Thank you..." Red said gratefully.

"Ties are no big deal." Crystal said, completely oblivious to what Red meant, causing him to chuckle.

OOOOOOO

Falkner was sitting quietly as a tall man with spiky blue hair stood with his back towards him.

The man was staring emotionlessly at the horizon with his hands behind his back, causing Falkner to become anxious.

Finally, he said, "... I will trust this... Crystal Nagareboshi..."

Falkner glanced up at him in shock as the man started walking away.

"This will be good... for Red... and Gold... but for me as well." the man said with an evil grin. "We're done here."

Falkner narrowed his eyes at him as he stood up. 'What is he planning...?'

OOOOOOO

"Falkner?" Red called after coming home from school. "Hm, looks like he's not here yet."

"I'm going to go put away my bag real quick." Crystal said halfway up the stairs.

"Sure." Red said as he went down the hallway towards the bathroom.

Crystal hurried up the stairs and opened the door to her room and was surprised to see Gold come down from a ladder holding some scotch tape.

Crystal lifted an eyebrow at him before looking up at the ceiling to see the hole that Gold had made previously was patched up with a blue sheet.

"It's only temporary, so call a professional to fix it later. It'll keep the rain out until then." Gold said.

"T-Thanks... I guess." Crystal said as Gold studied her for a second.

"What?"

Gold walked over to her brought his face close to hers, causing her to cringe slightly.

'What is he doing?' Crystal thought to herself, fully aware at how close he was to her.

A grin appeared on his face as he pulled back. "You know, you're pretty cute. For a nerd anyway."

"What did you say?" Crystal shouted, blushing at his "cute" comment.

"Sheesh, calm down, super-serious gal. I was only playing around." Gold said with a sly grin, causing Crystal to get even more annoyed.

She didn't expect him to be so obnoxious.

"Anyways, about this morning..." Gold said with a sympathetic expression on his face.

Crystal looked up at him as he squeezed the scotch tape in his hand.

"... A little warning would have been nice if you were going to hug me from behind. But I have to admit, it felt pretty good." Gold said, his cocky grin reappeared on his face.

That was it.

!SLAP!

"OW!"

As Falkner stepped into the house, Gold dashed out of the room laughing and out the door while holding the side of his face with Crystal right behind him with a furious expression.

"PERVERT!" Crystal shouted after him.

"Hm. I was wondering when he would start." Falkner said with a blank expression.

"Is he **_always _**like this?" Crystal said twitching with irritation.

"Unfortunately yes. But never mind that, can you come here for a second?" Falkner asked.

Crystal dropped her angry expression and followed Falkner into the main room, where Red was waiting as well.

"I talked with the head of the family this morning... and he's decided that as long as you can keep our secret you can stay here as long as you like." Falkner said as Crystal and Red looked at him in shock.

"That's great! So... my memories won't be taken away?" Crystal asked.

"Eh? Who told you-" Falkner glanced at Red before regaining his composure. "As long as you keep the secret."

"That sounds reasonable. Thank you." Crystal said. 'Phew... for a second there I was kind of nervous about that...'

"Oh, is it all right if I go visit my mom in the hospital for a while?" Crystal asked.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Falkner said as Crystal smiled brightly.

"Thanks! I'll be back before dinner!" Crystal said as she grabbed the letter and rushed out the door.

A little later, Red confronted Falkner while he was sitting on the porch meditating with his Hoothoot on his shoulder.

"Falkner, I don't have a good feeling about this." Red said as Falkner glancing up at him through one eye.

"I mean, what is Cyrus planning, dragging Nagareboshi-san into this?"

Falkner sighed and narrowed his eyes. "Your guess is as good as mine. I really have no idea what Cyrus is thinking... But I don't like it."

Red glanced up at the afternoon sun, wondering what the future had in store for all of them.

"She's lucky to have gotten out of that accident with a few broken bones. She'll be here for a little while though. But please go and see her, she's in the room just to the left down the hall here."

Crystal's mother looked up to see Crystal peeking behind the door and smiled.

"Come in, Crys." her mother told her as Crystal slowly came into the room.

"Smooch!" a Smoochum jumped down from Crystal's mother's bedside and rushed up to Crystal and jumped into her arms, giving her an affectionate hug.

"Hi, Chumee." Crystal said with a smile as she walked her over to her mother's bed.

Crystal stopped in front of her bed and bowed in apology. "I'm so sorry I couldn't come see you yesterday!"

Her mother shook her head and gave her a weak smile. "You don't need to apologize. The Sohma boy told me you also got into a little accident. I'm just glad you're all right."

"Mom..." Crystal said tearing up as she slowly came to her mother's bedside.

Her mother raised a bandaged hand and patted her daughter on the head soothingly. "Did you read my letter?"

Crystal nodded. "I read it on the way over. A lot happened this morning... But are you really okay with letting me stay there? I hardly know them."

"There's just something about that Sohma boy that allowed me to trust him. So, I'm not worried." Crystal's mother said. "Thank you for coming to see me."

Crystal smiled and shook her head. "I would have come see you even if you asked me not to."

Her mother smiled before closing her eyes to get some sleep.

The next day, Crystal was introduced to her first job at the Sohma family home: Cleaning the enormous dump in the kitchen.

Trash bags were piled up to the ceiling and there was a very foul smell in the air. Crystal couldn't even believe it was a kitchen.

".... I-I guess I should get started." Crystal said sweatdropping along with Chumee. 'It's worse than the lab!'

"Do you want any help?" Red asked.

Crystal shook her head slowly. "N-No... This is my job for staying here, so I'll take care of it... somehow."

"Well, I'm going to go find Gold and I'll be out for a while. We should be back by lunch time." Falkner said coming to the doorway.

"I guess I'll go out too." Red said. "Good luck, Nagareboshi-san."

Crystal sighed as she looked at the trash heap in front of her. "Yeah..."

After they left, Crystal was wondering whether this was worth staying here.

"This **_is _**my job, so I guess I'll just have to get to it." Crystal said as she started taking the trash bags out.

A few hours later of mopping and scrubbing, Crystal was miraculously able to make the kitchen sparkling clean with some help from Chumee.

Crystal wiped the sweat from her forehead and sighed in relief. "Phew! All that hard work really does pay off."

Red walked in and gasped in shock at how clean the kitchen that used to be dump was.

"Amazing... I could have sworn I walked in to the wrong house." Red said awe-struck.

"I didn't know we had a rice cooker." Red said coming over to the counter.

"You would be amazed of how many things I found in here." Crystal said. "Oh, lunch is almost ready. Hope you're hungry!"

Crystal put out the food on the table and set out the dishes.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you." Crystal said placing some Pokémon food down for Chumee and Poli, who looked quite happy.

Red took a small bite and smiled. "Wow, this is really good."

"Really? Are you sure it's not too bland?" Crystal asked.

Red shook his head and smiled. "Are you kidding? This is the best lunch I've ever had. After lunch, would you like any help getting your stuff?"

"Sure, thanks." Crystal said.

"That reminds me, I wonder where Falkner and that stupid cat are." Red said.

"They said they'd be back by lunch time." Crystal said. "You went out too, right? Did you go shopping?"

"Nah. I was just training with Poli. I have to stay in tip top condition with that lunatic around." Red said as Crystal giggled.

"At least he's not staying-" Crystal was cut off by Gold suddenly slamming the sliding door open with a furious expression on his face.

"Now hold on, Gold! Just listen!" Falkner shouted standing behind Gold with an irritated look.

"I don't want to hear it! You just like screwing around with me, don't you?" Gold shouted stomping across the room.

"It was for your own good! Besides, it was Cyrus' decision!" Falkner shouted after him.

"Shut up! I don't care about that b------ or what he says!" Gold shouted from the doorway.

"Do you have any manners?" Crystal said scolding his rude behavior.

"Stay out of this!" Gold shouted slamming the sliding door behind him.

"Gold, don't take this out on Crys!" Falkner called after him, before sighing heavily.

"What was the special occasion?" Crystal asked noticing Falkner was wearing a suit, which didn't seem to suit his personality.

"You look like butler." Red chuckled as Falkner sweatdropped while taking off his coat.

"And what about him?" Crystal asked referring to Gold.

"Don't worry about him. He's just angry that I tricked him into taking an entrance exam." Falkner said with a sigh as he took a seat at the table.

"For what?" Crystal said nervously.

"As of today, Gold will be the newest student at your school. And he's also going to be living here with us." Falkner said as Crystal suddenly spit her food out into the air as Red choked on the food he was swallowing.

"Falkner... **Get out**." Red said with a fake smile while slamming his rice bowl hard on the table.

"I figured you'd be angry, but don't take it out on me." Falkner said sweatdropping as Crystal wore a devastating look on her face.

"You see, Gold disappeared for four months to train on Mt. Silver." Falkner explained.

"Let me guess, he was meditating under waterfalls and fought Ursarings." Red said rolling his eyes.

"With him, anything is possible." Falkner said after visualizing Gold fighting an Ursaring. "Anyways, Gold is determined to beat Red-kun at all costs."

Red looked to the side. "Stupid cat."

Crystal sighed. 'I guess I'll have to put up with his obnoxious behavior... But I do wonder why he wants to beat Red so bad? Red doesn't seem to like Gold all that much either. I guess you can relate this to the story about how the Meowth was tricked by the Pikachu. The Meowth must have held a grudge towards the Pikachu for a long time. Could that be the reason? Though I can understand if they don't want to talk about it.'

**To be continued...**

* * *

It gets a little more exciting in later chapters, I hope. Anyways, the cursed characters' hair colors aren't going to match their cursed forms, which would mean changing one or the other, which I don't want to do. Hope you enjoyed it. Please Review!


	3. Understanding the Meowth and the Pikachu

**Characters:**

Crystal - age 16  
Red - age 17  
Gold - age 16  
Marley - age 16  
Yellow - age 16  
Falkner - age 25  
Jackson - age 16

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or Pokémon_

**Understanding the Meowth and the Pikachu**

"Where? Where?" a girl said from outside the classroom, trying to look in.

"Over there, that one with the bangs!" another girl said.

"Eh? They don't look alike besides the hair color."

"He's so cute!"

"I wonder if he has a girlfriend."

Gold was surrounded by the school girls looking at him, wanting to know if he really was Red's cousin.

"Is he really Sohma-kun's cousin?" Nina said.

"I bet he knows everything about him!" Saki said bringing her face close to his to get a good look.

Gold was starting to twitch, trying to keep himself under control. If it wasn't for the curse, he'd actually enjoy their company.

"He looks so scared." Yellow said as Crystal rolled her eyes.

'He's probably enjoying it.' Crystal thought to herself.

Red passed by the classroom and saw Gold trying to stay away from physical contact from all the girls crowded around him.

"It seems like he doesn't seem to like to get that close to girls either, I wonder..." Marley said causing Crystal to flinch.

'I can't take this anymore!' Gold said to himself as he got up and started walking away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Saki said as she reached out and grabbed his arm.

Gold flinched, causing his Meowth ears to pop up in surprise before bolting towards the window and jumped out, two stories high. (I know this isn't really what Gold would do, but with the curse, he really can't get close to anyone)

The girls gasped as they ran over to the window to see Gold land like a cat and then run off.

"Amazing..." Nina said.

"I can't believe he jumped." Luna said.

"He's really strange isn't he?" Yellow said as Marley nodded.

"...." Crystal watched Gold run off somewhere in a rush, actually feeling a little sorry for him.

Red walked hastily down the hallway ignoring the good mornings his classmates said to him.

'That idiot! What was he thinking jumping from that high up?' Red thought as he rushed outside.

Gold rounded a corner and sat down, trying to catch his breath.

"Hey."

Gold looked up to see Red looking down at him with his arms crossed.

"What are you trying to prove, pulling stunt like that? If you act without thinking, you're going to give our secret away." Red said with an irritated tone.

"They were getting too close! If they got any closer, I would have transformed! Stop talking to me like you're so superior!" Gold growled.

Red narrowed his eyes. "I guess **_you'd _**rather go to an all boys school then, huh? Why do you want to live in a cage? Especially our family's cage?"

Gold stood up and faced him, rage burning in his eyes. "What would someone like **_you _**know anyway?"

Crystal came around the corner searching for them as Gold let his anger get the best of him.

"One of these days, I'm going to prove once and for all that I'm better than you! I'm not going to be left out because of you anymore!" Gold shouted as lunged at Red.

Crystal gasped and rushed towards them. "Stop!"

She tackled Gold, causing him to transform again.

Gold stood in his Meowth form, absolutely stunned as was Crystal.

"Look... I know you don't like each other... but you shouldn't bring your fights to school and-"

"Shut... up."

Crystal stopped and looked at Gold in shock.

"What the hell? Who do you think you are, my mother? This has absolutely nothing to do with you, so stay out of it! This is the second time you made me transform! So just stay the hell away from me!" Gold shouted.

Gold realized what he just said and sweatdropped. "Ah... Oh."

Crystal stood up and started walking away.

"Ah, wait..." Gold said lifting a paw as Crystal whirled around with anger radiating from her face.

"You jerk! And to think I felt sorry for you! You want me to stay away from you? I'll be happy to oblige!" Crystal shouted before turning her back to him and continued walking away.

After she left, Red sighed. "You really **_are _**stupid."

Red walked away as Gold sat on the ground, staring where Crystal had stormed off.

He felt utterly guilty as he picked up his uniform and headed towards the boys' bathroom.

'To think I even felt sorry for that jerk! To think I felt sorry for that Meowth in that story!'

Crystal marched angrily down the hallway, not even aware of where she was going.

_"I'm not going to be left out because of you anymore!"_

Crystal paused as she remembered what Gold had said. She then felt a little guilty for yelling at him.

'But he deserved it!' Crystal told herself, but deep down she knew that she should probably apologize for making matters somewhat worse in that situation.

"Hey, Crystal-chan!"

!BAM!

Crystal was so distracted by her thoughts, she wasn't paying close enough attention to where she was going and ran into the wall at the corner.

"Crystal-chan! Are you okay?" a boy with brownish tan hair that stood up in small tufts.

"Yeah, I wasn't paying attention, that's all." Crystal said rubbing her forehead.

"Are you not feeling well? Oh no! Are you sick? Don't worry! I'll go get the school nurse right away!" Jackson announced as he was about to dash down the hallway.

"I'm fine. You're overreacting again!" Crystal said, catching Jackson from the back of his collar and yanked him backwards.

Jackson fell to the ground, but quickly got back up. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just concerned that's all. What's the matter?"

Crystal sighed. "A lot of things. But anyways, I got to get to class so I'll see you later."

"I'll see you at lunch!" Jackson called while waving.

Back at Falkner's house, Gold was lying on the back porch on his side while Falkner was working at his desk beside the door.

"I'm guessing things at school didn't go too well. Did you get in fight with Red again?" Falkner asked while reading a report of some sort.

"Just drop it okay? I already have more than enough problems to deal with." Gold said.

"For example?" Falkner asked.

"... All I do is make her mad. She probably hates me."

"By her, are you referring to Crys? Let me guess, you let your anger get the best of you? I thought you went to the mountains to work on that."

"Save it. It's just not easy living with 'normal' people."

"Nothing in life is ever easy. Besides, it's not like you're the only one who's cursed. Anyways, you just need to learn to take things one step at a time, that's all."

Gold sat up and stretched as Aitaro came over and landed on his head.

"I'm home." Red said at the doorway.

"Welcome back. Where's Crys?" Falkner asked as Gold flinched and quietly slunk away out of view.

"She has a part-time job and won't be back until around dinner. I was planning to walk her back afterwards." Red said.

"That's probably a good idea. There are some real weirdoes out there." Falkner said as Gold slumped against the wall overhearing their conversation.

(Several hours later)

'It's late. I should hurry to start working on dinner.' Crystal said to herself as she was walking through the forest towards the house.

'I should really think about apologizing to Gold about this morning... but I wonder if he'll actually take it seriously.'

Crystal recalled how he flirted with her a few days ago and how he had yelled at her this morning.

Crystal sighed. "It's hopeless... I'll never understand him."

Suddenly, Crystal heard rustling nearby and froze where she stood.

'What was that? Could it be a Pokémon or...' Crystal thought as the rustling drew closer.

'... Or what if it's one of those creeps that Falkner warned me about?'

She heard rustling directly behind her and someone reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

"NOOO!" Crystal cried as she whirled around and kicked them right between their legs.

"Gck!"

Crystal looked up to see Gold, who was twitching painfully.

'What's he doing here? I mistook him for a stalker! ... Of course he **_could _**pass for one.' Crystal said to herself as Gold fell to the ground and curled into a ball, shuddering as Aitaro came over to him.

Gold glared at her over his shoulder. "Is this how you greet someone who was going to walk you home?"

"Well, sorry if I mistook you for a stalker! You shouldn't go around sneaking up one people like that!" Crystal scolded, before realizing what he just said.

"Eh, you were coming to pick me up?" Crystal asked as Gold finally recovered from Crystal's attack and slowly stood up.

"Why else would I be out here? Enjoying the view of the trees?" Gold said sarcastically.

Crystal frowned. "You could be a little nicer about it."

"You're just too sensitive, little miss super-serious gal." Gold said as Crystal felt herself getting angry again.

"Ugh! I can't stand you!" Crystal shouted as Gold said nothing and looked to the side.

Crystal realized her mistake and let out a sigh. "... No, I'm sorry."

Gold looked over at her in surprise as Crystal looked to the side with an apologetic expression.

"I wasn't helping when I yelled at you this morning. So, I'm sorry." Crystal said.

"Ah, don't be."

Crystal looked at Gold in surprise as he rubbed his temples. "I deserved it by how I yelled at you earlier. And you don't... you know... have to stay away..."

Gold blushed as he put his hand to mouth. "It's just... I don't know. Ah, just start yelling at me already!"

Crystal widened her eyes in surprise as a small blush appeared on her face. 'Is... He trying to apologize for this morning? And for a few days ago... Maybe he was trying to apologize then too. Maybe... he isn't so bad.'

"Hey, Gold..."

Gold looked up at Crystal in surprise, hearing her call him by his name for the first time.

"Let's start over," Crystal said extending her hand to him. "Hi, my name is Crystal. But you can call me Crys for short if you want. What's yours?"

Gold stared at her extended hand for a moment before taking it into his own. "Gold."

He suddenly pulled her towards him, causing her to blush. But at the last moment, he stepped aside and let her fall to the ground.

"Ppptttt! JERK!" Crystal shouted spitting the dirt from her mouth as Gold cracked up with laughter.

"Still can't take a joke, super-serious gal?" Gold taunted with grin on his face.

Crystal stood up and slapped him, while blushing.

"Hey! Ow! Cut that out!" Gold shouted holding the side of his face with his hand. "Sheesh, who knew you were so violent."

"Oh grow up." Crystal said walking away.

Gold watched her and rubbed his face one more time before following behind her. "Girls these days..."

OOOOOOO

"Gold, I heard you gave Crys a bit of a shock when you went to pick her up." Falkner said as Gold glanced up at him while eating his breakfast.

"Stalker." Red said as Gold glared at him with a mad-mark.

"Shut up! How was I supposed to know she was going to turn around and kick me?" Gold shouted across the table.

"Well, that would be the natural reaction of any girl who feels like she's being followed. Besides, it was dark out, I couldn't see very well." Crystal said.

"I'm sorry I didn't bring a freaken flash light." Gold said as Crystal shot him a look. (Since he's a Meowth, he can see clearly at night which is why he didn't think to bring a flash light)

"You were the one was snooping around like a pervert."

"I am not a pervert!"

"You sure acted like one when we first met."

"Just drop it, woman!"

'Is it just me, or did this house get even louder?' Red thought as Falkner took sip of tea.

OOOOOOO

"Hey, do you guys want to play a game?" Yellow said holding up a deck of cards she brought to school.

"Go find Red and play with him, I don't want to." Gold said leaning on his desk.

"What? Are you scared of losing?" Crystal asked.

"Fine! I'll play your little game! I'll beat you, hands down!" Gold said.

"Alright then, let's make it a little interesting. The loser cleans the classroom by themselves." Crystal said as the two glared at each other.

"You're on!" Gold shouted as Yellow sweatdropped.

Crystal looked out the doorway to see if Red would like to play, but he was no where in sight.

Upstairs, Red was confronted by one of his classmates, who just confessed to him.

Red smiled sadly. "I'm sorry. I'm just not interested in being in a relationship right now. So maybe it's best it we could just be-"

"No, don't say it! Red-kun!" the girl cried as she jumped to hug him.

Reacting on impulse, Red stopped her by grabbing her head between his hands, shocking her.

Red felt a pang of guilt as he looked down at her sadly. "I-I'm sorry."

"It's just that... You're so nice... But deep down... you reject others!" the girl said as Red released her.

Red was taken back by the statement and looked at her in shock.

"Everyone says that Red-kun is special! So a normal girl like me, isn't good enough for you, is that it?" the girl said on the verge of tears as Red just stared at her, not knowing what to say, since she was right about him.

Around the corner, a suspicious looking figure was watching the whole thing.

"Hm... Very interesting."

"Revolution!" Gold said with a smug look as he put down a number of cards.

"You cheater! That was a dirty trick!" Crystal shouted.

"What do you mean? Those are the damn rules!" Gold shot-back.

"When you play a 'revolution', the 'rich man' and the 'poor man' trade places..." Yellow said looking at her hand of cards.

"Yes, so... Reverse revolution!" Marley announced, revealing her hand of low cards, causing everyone to sweatdrop in shock.

"Hah! You lost! Get to cleaning." Crystal smiled as Gold banged his head down on the desk in defeat.

"Heh, she really got you, Gold!" a classmate laughed.

"Nice job, Makkuro-san!"

"Just you wait! I'll win next time!" Gold said with a determined smirk.

Red walked by the classroom and saw Gold grinning as he fooled around with his classmates.

He let out a sigh before walking away down the hall.

After school, Gold was stacking the desks on top of each other.

"You played Rich Man Poor man?" Red asked.

"Yeah, you should really play with us next time. It was fun." Crystal said as Red nodded.

"Heh, so it looks like Gold was the loser this time." Red smirked, causing a mad-mark to appear on Gold's head.

"Yeah, he got what was coming to him." Crystal said with a giggle as Gold glared at her.

"Hey! I was close all right! But I'll definitely win next time!" Gold said as he turned and pointed at Red. "Just like I'll beat you!"

"Wait, wait, I think I've heard this one before...!" Red said pretending to think about it.

"That wasn't a joke smart mouth! I **_will_** beat you someday." Gold said narrowing his eyes.

"Why do you always have to push all of your problems on me?" Red sighed.

"I swear, every time you open your mouth, it pisses me off!" Gold shouted.

"And every time you open yours, you sound like an idiot." Red replied calmly, but Crystal sensed the frustration in his voice.

Crystal watched as the two exchanged insults one after the other and wondered if they would ever get along. She also wondered the same thing about her and Gold, though they seem to be getting along a little better since the other night.

She then recalled what Gold had shouted at Red on the first day of school, that he wouldn't be left out anymore in his family. She then wondered if he really would be accepted if he did manage to defeat Red. But why was he left out in the first place? Though she didn't believe fighting was the best way to solve the problem.

"All right! Enough talk! Come on!" Gold shouted as he lunged at Red.

Red dodged Gold's fist and kicked him right under the jaw, sending him flying backwards.

Gold landed on the classroom floor with a loud crash as Red narrowed his eyes at him.

"You know... I am really getting sick of this." Red said quite coldly before walking out of the classroom.

"Red, hold on!" Crystal said as Gold groaned in pain.

She looked over at him as he sat up and rubbed his bruised jaw.

"Ow, he went pretty hard on me today. He must be in a bad mood." Gold said as he winced.

"Are you okay? You didn't bite your tongue or anything did you?" Crystal asked.

Gold glanced up at her then grinned. "Aww, are you worried about me? How sweet."

A mad-mark appeared over her head as she went over to him and pushed him over with her foot.

"Don't make me slap you again and it'd hurt more considering Red already bruised your jaw." Crystal said as Gold chuckled.

Crystal looked back towards the doorway where Red had disappeared. She could tell something was bothering him.

"Don't you have work?" Gold said, snapping Crystal out of her thoughts and glanced at her watch.

"Oh, right!" Crystal said as she dashed out the door, but came back and gave Gold a look. "You better finish cleaning the classroom."

"Sure, sure. Just be back by dinner, kay?" Gold said winking in a joking manor, causing Crystal to twitch.

"Don't do that." Crystal said as Gold started laughing.

"You're still waaaay too serious." Gold said as he started mopping the floors.

OOOOOOOO

As Crystal was organizing the Professor's bookshelf, she found a photo album with some photos of Prof. Oak with a young boy and girl.

"Hey, Professor." Crystal called over to Prof. Oak.

"What is it?" Prof. Oak asked coming over and saw the book Crystal had. "Oh! I've been looking for that!"

"Who are those two kids in the picture?" Crystal asked.

"Those are my grandchildren. That picture was taken seven or eight years ago. I haven't seen them in years since their parents died." Prof. Oak said sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. But if their parents died, how come they aren't living with you?" Crystal asked.

"I wondered that myself. The Sohma family just told me that they had to live within the family estate." Prof. Oak said as Crystal's eyes widened in shock.

"Wait... They're Sohmas?" Crystal said in shock, surprising Prof. Oak.

"Well, yes. My son married someone from the Sohma family. Since the Sohma family has very high status, he adopted their surname. So I'm only related to them by marriage." Prof. Oak explained.

Crystal looked at the picture again and stared at the little boy in the picture.

'Could it be...That he's part of the Zodiac? Is that why the Sohma family didn't allow him to live with Prof. Oak?' Crystal thought in wonder.

After work, Crystal came outside the lab to find Red waiting outside for her.

"Ready to head back?" Red said with a smile.

"You came all the way here to pick me up?" Crystal asked in surprise.

"Well, it's not safe to be walking alone at night." Red said as Crystal realized he was right considering her experience with the wild Houndoom a few days before.

"Thanks, I wouldn't want to meet any weirdoes like Gold." Crystal said as Red chuckled.

"Yeah, let's go." Red said as he started walking towards home.

"Red." Crystal called as Red looked over his shoulder at her.

"Eh?"

"Do you know anyone in the Sohma family by the name of...." Crystal paused the realized she had forgotten to ask Prof. Oak his grandson's name. 'Crap...'

"Never mind!" Crystal laughed nervously as Red stared at her with a confused look.

"But I did want to ask you something before, but you seemed really upset about something. Do you want to talk about it?" Crystal asked as Red looked at her in surprise before looking away and continued towards home.

"Red!" Crystal called after him.

"When I was living in the main house, I felt like I was living in a prison." Red said as Crystal caught up to him.

Crystal looked at him in surprise as he continued.

"I was separated from everyone even in my family. I've always just wanted to live normally like everyone else. But I was never given that chance. Even now, I'm still living in a Sohma home. I'm grateful to Falkner for letting me stay with him, but I'm still connected to the Sohma family. And I still have no idea how to interact with 'normal' people. I don't mean to turn them away, but I'm just afraid of getting hurt... because of my curse. I can't get close to anyone."

Red looked at his hand before forming it into a ball.

"But Gold is different. He doesn't know how to deal with people at first either, but once he gets to know them, he opens up to them, let's others know who he is. He's the type of person who attracts others... Even if he can't join the Zodiac, isn't it better to be accepted by 'normal' people for who he is? That's exactly what I've always wanted..."

Crystal paused, staring at Red in surprise as the wind started to pick up.

"That's why I get so annoyed with him. He can't even see what he already has. He's blinded by that foolish desire to join the very same family that I've been trying to run away from my whole life." Red said with a sad smile.

"But lots of girls at school like you. They're always saying how nice and polite you are." Crystal said, trying to cheer him up.

"I guess, but I still distant myself from them. I'm just a coward." Red said as lightning flashed and rain started pouring.

"The weather didn't say anything about rain!" Crystal cried.

"Come on, before we get drenched!" Red said as both of them started running.

Red threw open the sliding door to the house and he and Crystal rushed in, both sopping wet.

"I'll go get some towels." Red said going down the hall.

"Welcome back, you two. I guess the rain gave you a surprise." Falkner said as Crystal chuckled.

"Where's Gold? I would expect to pop up somewhere and start poking fun at how drenched I am right now." Crystal said.

"He's in the living room, under a blanket. This kind of weather makes him some-what weak." Falkner said as Red came back with some towels.

Falkner yawned. "I know it's kind of early, but I'm beat. Good night."

"Good night." Crystal said as Falkner waved while walking towards his room.

Crystal walked into the living room to see Gold curled up in the corner of the room with a blanket on top of him.

"He sure sleeps like a Meowth." Crystal said as Red set some hot milk on the table.

"Well, he **_is_**one." Red said taking a seat at the table.

"Hey, Nagareboshi-san. Thanks." Red said as Crystal looked up at him in surprise.

"I've never really talked about myself like that to anyone before. But, I do feel a lot better. So, thank you."

Crystal smiled. "You shouldn't keep things bottled up. You'll only end up hurting yourself."

"Oh, you're back."

Crystal looked over to see Gold look at her sleepily.

Gold got out from underneath the blanket and yawned as he stretched like a cat.

"You're act an awful lot like a cat." Crystal said as Gold gave her a look.

"Gee, I wonder why?" Gold said sarcastically.

"Hey, next time you play Rich man Poor man, I'd like to join." Red said.

"Sure, that'd be fun." Crystal said as Gold rolled his yes.

"Oh great, Mr. Perfect is going to join." Gold said as Red lifted an eye brow at him.

"Is that a problem? Or is it because you're afraid of losing like today?" Red said with a grin.

"The hell! You're going down the next time we play!" Gold said before collapsing to the floor.

"H-Hey! What in the world?" Crystal cried before noticed that he was sleeping.

"Hm, he really is weak in this weather." Red said glancing outside as Crystal giggled.

(The next day)

Crystal set down a dish of spinach and tofu, causing Gold to look at it while twitching.

"What? Not hungry?" Crystal asked.

"Spinach **_and _**tofu? That's a disgusting combination!" Gold said in disgust as Crystal glared at him.

"You'll hate any combination if there were any vegetables in it." Falkner said while reading the newspaper as Gold snorted in annoyance.

Red spun some chop sticks in his hand before grabbing hold of Gold's nose and shoved some spinach and tofu into his mouth, causing Gold to look like he was about to throw up.

"Stop being a baby and eat it." Red said, causing both Crystal and Falkner to sweatdrop.

'I do wonder what it would be like if Gold knew that Red admired him a little. Maybe there's something that Kenta admires about Red.' Crystal thought as Gold started turning pale.

"Um, Red-kun, Gold has already passed out. If you keep it up, you're going to kill him." Falkner said.

'Maybe if they could understand that, maybe they could be friends...' Crystal thought as she tried to picture what they would say.

_"You know, all this time I simply misunderstood you. I'm sorry." - Red_

_"No please, I'm sorry. From now on, let's be the best of friends!" - Gold_

'On second thought, that would just be plain creepy...' Crystal reconsidered.

**To be continued...**

* * *

Sorry for the lack of Pokémon in this chapter, but there was really not that many places to put them. This chapter was mainly for characterization. I am trying my best to change it up. It'll stray away from the Fruits Basket story once I get in enough plot. So be patient. Hope you enjoyed it, please review!


	4. Girl Trouble

It's back! I can finally be at ease, knowing that there aren't any dents in the story. XD Enjoy!_  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Fruits Basket_

Characters:

Crystal Nagareboshi - age 16  
Gold Sohma - age 16  
Red Sohma - age 17  
Falkner Sohma - age 25

**Girl Trouble**

"Take this, you stupid rat!" Gold cried as he attempted to punch Red, who merely moved out of the way of his attack.

"Ooh ah! Ooh Ah!" Aitaro cried challengingly as it attempted a Scratch attack on Poli.

Before the attack could hit, Poli sent out a powerful Water Gun attack at Aitaro, sending it flying backwards into a tree. Aitaro regained its bearings and struggled back onto his feet with a smirk on its face.

"That's right, we're not backing down this time!" Gold said in an arrogant tone that made Red roll his eyes in annoyance.

Crystal watched the two yet again engage in a fistfight along with their Pokemon. It's been two weeks since Crystal had started staying with them and Crystal had gotten used to, if not annoyed with Gold and Red's little quarrels. They always ended up the same, even if Gold did things differently.

Gold attempted a kick, but Red quickly blocked it and charged forward as did Poli to Aitaro.

"Three…Two…One." Crystal counted down as Red and Poli slammed their fists into Gold and Aitaro's stomachs, sending them hurtling to the ground, defeated yet again.

"Don't get so cocky." Red said dusting his hands off as Gold glared defiantly at him before looking away in frustration.

"Well, that makes this the twenty fifth win this week, Red." Crystal said bringing Red a towel to wipe his sweat off with.

"What the hell? You were keeping track?" Gold cried quickly getting back onto his feet.

"Well, considering you keep losing…"

"Oh, shut up!"

Falkner let out an exasperated sigh before he went back to reading an interesting article about some local break-ins. He glanced at the picture next to the article, seeing a figure wearing all black with a cap over their head. The picture made Falkner frown somehow, causing suspicion to rise within him.

A sudden breeze swept through Gold's bangs causing him to suddenly widen his eyes and look around as if something bad was going to jump out at him.

"Oh no…It's coming." Gold said in a horrified tone before starting towards the forest.

Red grabbed him from the back of his collar as he ran by, preventing him from escaping.

"Ack! Let me go! Let me go before it's too late!" Gold cried desperately as he tried to get out of Red's grasp but to no avail.

"What's his problem?" Crystal said lifting an eyebrow at Gold's odd behavior.

"Gold's _girlfriend_ is coming to pay him a visit." Falkner said casually, not even bothering to look up from his reading.

"Girlfriend?" Crystal said in shock, unable to believe that Gold could actually have a girlfriend.

"She is **_not _**my girlfriend! She's insane!" Gold cried glaring angrily at Falkner who ignored him and continued reading.

Before Crystal could question further on the subject, the sliding door that led into the house suddenly flew open, revealing a teenage girl with spiky pink pigtails with a bright and peppy smile.

Crystal flinched at this as she whirled around to look at the girl.

"Hi everyone!" the girl said cheerfully as Gold turned pale.

"Mil!" a pink and black cow mooed behind her enthusiastically.

The girl then turned her attention onto Gold, causing him to flinch as he desperately tried to get away. She stared at him in surprise before tears formed underneath her eyelids.

"Gold-kun…it's really you…" the girl said while fighting back her tears.

Gold looked over at her with a terrified expression as the girl started skipping over to him.

"Gold-kun!" the girl cried as Gold struggled more and more to break free from Red's grasp.

Gold looked bewilderedly at her as she got closer and closer. Just as she was close enough to hug him, Red let go of Gold's collar allowing Gold to bolt away as fast as he could.

"Gooooold-kuuuuun!" the girl called out to him as she ran after him.

Crystal watched with a sweatdrop as the two ran back and forth, Gold trying desperately to get away from her. "W-Who is this girl?"

"That's Whitney Sohma, a relative of ours." Red said as he sat on the porch next to Crystal.

"Okay…I can tell that she must really like Gold…" Crystal said as Red chuckled.

"You can say that. She's two years older than you Gold, but she still can get a little carried away with her emotions."

"And like us, she's also part of the Zodiac," Falkner said finally looking up from his paper. "Unlike the mild-mannered and gentle Flaaffy, Whitney always charges in to get what she wants."

Crystal glanced back over at the scene, watching Gold desperately try to get away from Whitney.

His foot suddenly hit a rock, sending him falling flat on his face. Seeing her chance, Whitney sprang and started hugging the living daylights out of him

"Oh, Gold-kun! I missed you so much!" Whitney cried.

"That makes one of us!" Gold said as he tried desperately to get out of her grasp but to no avail.

Falkner chuckled before standing up. "Good to see you too, Whitney. Why don't we all go inside and catch up over some tea."

"Ah! Long time no see, Falkner-ani!" Whitney said cheerfully while dragging a reluctant Gold into the house.

'This is going to be an interesting day…' Crystal said to herself before following the two in.

* * *

Whitney took a big, long sip of tea before signing in content, smiling up at Falkner. "Thank you so much for the tea, Falkner-ani. It's delicious! Don't you think so, Gold-kun?"

Gold just grunted in annoyance while sitting off in the corner with a depressing aura looming over him, swishing his cup's contents around.

Red just sighed at his behavior, though he really couldn't blame him. Whitney could definitely be a handful.

"How is everything, Whitney?" Red asked while snacking on some crackers that Whitney had brought.

"Everything is good! Now that Gold-kun is here of course!" Whitney gushed as Red sweatdropped.

Though Crystal was curious about Gold and Whitney's relationship, she decided it would be best to keep quiet. She didn't want to make either Gold or Whitney mad. Gold would be annoying and she didn't know what to expect from Whitney.

"Gold-kun~" Whitney called causing Gold to wince. "I was starting to worry about where you went for four months. You didn't even call me."

"Well…maybe I **_didn't _**want to call you." Gold said through gritted teeth.

"That's not very nice," Whitney pouted. "Considering we are going to get married and all…"

Gold's Meowth ears immediately stuck out as Red let the cracker fall out of his mouth in shock while Falkner kept a stoic expression on his face.

Crystal was struck speechless as her mind slowly processed the shocking information.

'Married…?'

"SINCE WHEN?" Gold cried furiously while glaring at the pink-haired girl.

Both Red and Crystal glanced at Whitney curiously, interested about how and if the two are engaged.

Whitney disregarded Gold's outburst before looking off dreamily, a soft blush gracing her features.

"Don't you remember proposing to me? We were walking along the beach, a beautiful sunset just over the horizon. Suddenly, you turned to me, those brilliant golden amber eyes shining, and confessed your undying love to me. That's when you got down on one knee and pulled out a gorgeous ring! It was so romantic! It was like a dream come true!"

"Maybe because it was a dream! I don't ever remember proposing to you, much less walking you down a beach!" Gold shouted with a mad-mark above his head.

Red let out an exasperated sigh, as Falkner didn't seem too surprised and naturally took a sip of tea.

"I should have known." Red said rubbing his temples, realizing Whitney always had a wild imagination.

As Gold and Whitney argued about the supposed "proposal", Crystal couldn't help but wonder why Whitney liked Gold so much.

Gold was loud and obnoxious, not to mention a pervert. He obviously doesn't think things through before doing them and likes to call people names. Cheating is also an issue, along with being stubborn about many things.

However, despite his faults, Crystal found that underneath that cocky exterior, he was actually very kind-hearted.

Upon realizing this, Crystal quickly shook her head, trying desperately to clear her head of unwanted thoughts.

"Hm? Something wrong, Crys?" Falkner asked causing Crystal to flinch.

"A-Ah! No of course not! I was just thinking about how I'm going to write my report." Crystal lied nervously.

Falkner stared at her for a moment before shrugging and went back to reading.

"We're definitely meant to be, Gold-kun! We can understand each other in a way that no one else can," Whitney said as she threw her arms around Gold's waist, who flinched in response. "We can hug each other all we want and not transform!"

Crystal widened her eyes in surprise seeing how neither one of them were transforming despite being opposite genders.

Gold immediately tried to pry himself from Whitney's arms as Crystal glanced over at Red with a curious gaze.

Red chuckled before shrugging. "We're not too sure either. There are three other girls and all we know is that when we hug them, we don't transform."

This was truly something she had not expected but found the new information quite intriguing. The fact that there were three other females also perked her interest and wondered if she'd ever meet the rest of the Zodiac.

"That's what I'm talking about! There would be complications if we were to get together with 'normal' people." Whitney said as a doleful look fell upon Falkner's face. Though it disappeared once he took a sip of tea.

While they Whitney was distracted by her own ranting, Gold desperately tried to crawl away before it was too late.

Unfortunately, Whitney spotted him from the corner of her eye and grabbed him before he could make it out the door.

"Gold-kun! You have to tell me, do you love me?" Whitney asked bringing Gold up to face her. "Because I love you so much! No one loves you as much as I do!"

Gold looked away with an annoyed look as tears welled up in Whitney's eyes.

With that, Falkner got up and went outside, closing the door behind him.

"Nagareboshi-san, I think it best that we leave these two to work out their problems on their own. Why not we go out to shop for dinner?" Red suggested as Crystal nodded sheepishly.

* * *

As Crystal and Red walked out of the house, she heard several things breaking and Gold crying out for help.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave them in there?" Crystal asked, concern written all over her face.

"I wouldn't worry, Gold can take care of himself." Red replied.

"I was actually talking about the state of the house…" Crystal said as Red sweatdropped.

"Hm, you do have a point there, but there's really nothing we can do now. Once Whitney's entered that state of mind…well, let's just say when we tried to intervene last time, Falkner ended up having a broken arm."

Crystal cringed at the thought. She never would have guessed that Whitney had the audacity to harm the levelheaded man. However, she figured that anything could happen in this family.

"You can imagine that Falkner wasn't too happy about that," Red chuckled nervously, remembering the dark glare that Falkner had on his face after the incident. "It was quite scary actually."

Seeing as Falkner never showed too much emotion, Crystal couldn't quite imagine what he what he must have looked like in that situation.

"Anyways, like I was saying," Red started as the two continued on their way down the road towards the grocery store. "Whitney definitely has a one-track mind, especially when it comes to Gold. She's had her heart set on marrying him since we were kids. It's quite silly, actually."

"Actually, I find it admirable," Crystal said, surprising Red.

"To have that kind of devotion, letting nothing stand in your way to achieve that one goal," Crystal said with a small smile gracing her features.

Red couldn't help but smile as well. "When you put it that way, you and Whitney are actually a lot alike."

"Huh?" Crystal asked in surprise.

"I mean, you are striving so hard to get an academic scholarship to get into a good college, right?"

Crystal nodded, seeing where Red was coming from. That's also why she was working so hard, so she could pay her own way into college if she didn't get the scholarship. While Whitney was trying her absolute hardest to win Gold's heart, though Crystal wasn't sure if her way was the best.

"Both of you have amazing dedication, just in different areas. It's quite amazing," Red said with a gentle smile. "I think the two of you would make good friends."

This caused Crystal to smile while blushing slightly before looking up at the clear blue sky. "Thanks."

* * *

After several rounds of crashing and breaking, Falkner was quite fearful to look inside the house to see what kind of disaster the two created.

He let out an exasperated sigh while running a hand through his hair. "There must be some kind of conspiracy to destroy my house…"

Gold suddenly came flying out of the house, looking quite beaten and bruised. He then quickly scampered up a tree like a cat being chased by a dog.

"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!" Falkner's Hoothoot chirped while flapping frantically upon his partner's shoulder.

Letting out yet another sigh, Falkner calmly got up and walked to the side just as a giant pink ball came barreling through the screen door.

It rolled around in circles before jumping up into the air, revealing itself as a giant pink cow with black spots.

"Mil?" Miltank mooed in confusion, wondering where Gold had gone.

A moment later, Whitney came out and hurried over to her companion. "Aw~ Where did Gold-kun go? Mil Mil, did you see where he went?"

Her Miltank sadly shook her head causing Whitney to pat its head knowingly.

Gold anxiously watched from top of the tree as Whitney glanced back and forth, completely oblivious to where he had gone.

She put her pointing fingers to her head as if she was predicting something. Her face contorted into that of deep concentration as she hummed.

"My girl senses tell me that Gold-kun went…"

Finally, Whitney confidently pointed to the right and ran off with Mil Mil right behind her.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Gold leaned against the trunk of the tree. He closed his eyes in bliss while massaging the area between his eyes, grateful to be able to escape Whitney if only for a little bit.

'I can't hide up here forever…' Gold sighed before realizing that he was missing his goggles.

He frantically looked around to see if he could spot his beloved goggles. 'Dammit, they must have fallen off somewhere while Whitney was chasing me.'

After desperately searching for his lost item, he spotted something shining from the corner of his eye.

As quiet as he could, he jumped down from his hiding place and rushed over to the source of the reflecting light.

It was indeed his goggles. Unfortunately, he realized that the lens were cracked as if someone or something had stepped on it.

"Ah…I really liked these too…" Gold sniffled while cradling his broken treasure in his hands.

"FOUND YOU!"

Gold's Meowth ears and tail popped out in fear before dashing off with Whitney right behind him, dropping his goggles in the process.

Several more crashes and breaking of objects followed as Falkner put his head in his hands.

* * *

When Crystal and Red returned from grocery shopping, Crystal's mouth dropped in sheer horror of the state of the house.

Everything was in chaos. The screen door was in tatters and nearly all of the furniture was broken save for the television. There were several holes in the floor and walls as well as broken objects lay strewn all over the place.

The bag of groceries slipped from Red's grasp, even he was horrified by the wreckage.

"And I worked so hard to clean up that Arceus forsaken kitchen…now I have to remodel the whole house." Crystal said while crying on the inside.

"I knew it was going to be bad, but I didn't know it would come to this," Red said running a hand through his spiky hair.

"Ah! Where's Falkner-san?" Crystal realized, wondering where the adult of the house had gone.

As if on cue, Falkner opened what was left of the screen door and just stared at the remains of his home. Keeping a deadpanned look on his face, he slowly closed the door without a word causing both Crystal and Red to sweatdrop.

Though he didn't say anything, they both knew that Falkner was in tears on the inside.

"He's probably going to murder Gold later for this…" Red said sheepishly while taking the groceries into what was left of the kitchen.

Crystal's next concern was where the two house wreckers had gone off to.

After walking a bit through the wreckage, Crystal found Whitney looking around with a look of distress on her face.

"Oh…How am I going to clean all of this up by myself? Hnyah! Falkner-ani is going to kill me!" Whitney cried as her Miltank sweatdropped.

As Whitney continued to panic, Crystal couldn't help but crack a smile before walking over to her.

She placed a gentle hand on Whitney's shoulder, causing the pink-haired girl to flinch.

"Allow me to help you. This way, the house will be repaired in no time." Crystal said with a smile.

Tears started welling up at the corner of Whitney's eyes before she let out a cry and gave Crystal a tight, and slightly painful, hug.

"WAAAHHHHH! Thank you so much!" Whitney cried as Crystal gave her a pained smile.

Not too far away, Red watched the two with a content smile before quietly making his way to the backyard.

* * *

As Crystal and Whitney swept up the broken objects, Crystal noticed a familiar pair of goggles lying dejectedly off to the side.

"These are…" Crystal mumbled to herself.

They were in pretty bad shape and Crystal doubted that Gold would even want the pair back.

He had always wore them around his neck, which Crystal always thought was a little odd. However, she knew they must mean a lot to him as he never took them off.

Glancing over at Whitney, who was busily patching up the screen door with Mil Mil, Crystal decided to do a quick repair job.

After several hours of repairing, Crystal and Whitney somehow managed to get the house back in tiptop condition.

Crystal was immediately thanked with a giant hug by Whitney, though she could have lived without it.

Afterwards, Crystal invited Whitney to stay for dinner; much to the latter's delight.

Despite the two girls attempts to get the house back in order, Falkner still seemed to be in a foul mood, though Crystal really couldn't blame him.

Gold, however, never showed up for dinner, causing Crystal to wonder if he was all right. Red waved it off, stating how he's just probably somewhere sulking.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Crystal excused herself to go search for Gold, bringing along a plate of food. Considering how late it was, Gold had to be hungry.

Though Whitney had wanted to go with her, Falkner forced her to stay at the table with a glare. He obviously did not want another session of destruction.

While Crystal walked down the hall, she heard a light thump coming from the roof. Hurrying down the hall and out into the backyard, she spotted a latter leaning against the wall.

'Found him.'

Gold let out a frustrated grunt while he lazily gazed up at the crescent moon that hung dimly in the night sky.

Aitaro hopped onto his shoulder, causing the black haired boy to let out a cry of pain. During the process of fleeing from the pink-haired maniac – as Gold liked to call her – he had dislocated his shoulder and had been hurting for several hours.

The purple monkey looked at his partner apologetically as Gold just brushed it off by patting him on the head.

"So this is where you've been hiding."

Gold let out a cry of panic, his Meowth ears and tail popping out, before settling down once he realized it was only Crystal.

"Sheesh, don't scare me like that! I thought you were Whitney at first." Gold panted while trying to steady his speeding heart.

Crystal frowned before noticing his shoulder looked out of place.

"Is your shoulder dislocated?" Crystal asked in concern as Gold huffed in frustration.

"Yeah, how'd you notice?" Gold grumbled as Crystal climbed onto the roof with him. "This is what happens when that pink-haired maniac gets a hold of –"

*Crack*

"YOOOOOOWWWWWW!" Gold cried in sheer agony as Crystal had quickly snapped the joints together while Aitaro put his paws over his eyes.

"There," Crystal said dusting her hands in a confident manner while Gold lay on his side sobbing.

"Warn me before you do something like that!" Gold cried while gripping his shoulder as Aitaro did his best to comfort his partner.

Crystal let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh stop being such a baby, it wasn't that bad."

"Man, I'm just having the worst luck with women today…" Gold said running a hand through his hair irritably.

"Oh, before I forget," Crystal said as she started digging something out of her pocket as Gold glanced curiously at her.

A moment later, she brought out a pair of newly fixed goggles. They were definitely his, but looked much nicer. The goggles were now yellow and had black frames around it to keep it together.

Gold widened his eyes in surprise as Crystal held them out to him. It took Gold a second before he carefully reached down and took the goggles from her hands.

"T-Thanks," Gold stammered. "You didn't really have to go through all the trouble to fix them."

"I know, but I figured they must mean a lot to you, considering you wear them all the time." Crystal said with a small smile, causing Gold's cheeks to turn slightly pink.

He coughed a couple time in embarrassment before rubbing his sore shoulder to distract himself.

"Man, it's always like this when she comes over," Gold grunted, changing the subject entirely. "And she won't shut up about all that marriage crap. I just don't understand her, nor do I ever want to."

"Her determination is admirable though," Crystal said, capturing Gold's attention.

"She's willing to put forth so much energy to make that dream come true. Other's just give up when the going gets tough," Crystal explained, relaying her conversation with Red. "Don't you have a dream?"

"Peh, beating Red, of course!" Gold smirked as Crystal rolled her eyes. "That's the whole reason why I went up to Mt. Silver in the first place."

Gold immediately stood up, his amber eyes shining brightly, while pumping his fist into the air. "That place was ridiculously challenging with all those high level Pokemon up there. But the challenge is what made it all the more exciting, knowing that I'd definitely get stronger afterwards."

Never before had Crystal seen Gold look so passionate, it surprised her. His gaze was so captivating like that…

Crystal immediately blushed when she realized what she had just thought and quickly shook her head.

Gold noticed this and a mischievous grin made way onto his face as he brought his face closer to hers.

"Well, well, well. Staring, are we?" Gold said slyly, causing Crystal to twitch.

Without thinking, Crystal punched Gold in the arm, the one that had been dislocated.

Another painful cry broke out as Red let out an exasperated sigh. "They sure are lively tonight."

* * *

"Farewell for now, my love!" Whitney said dramatically as she wrapped her arms around Gold's torso.

Gold let out a shout before trying desperately to pry the hyperactive girl off of him. However, he had a bit of trouble considering one arm was currently in a sling.

"No one told me you stayed the night! Haven't you done enough damage?" Gold cried as Crystal ignored the two and continued preparing breakfast.

They were pretty animated first thing in the morning, Crystal thought. Despite all the chaos, Crystal had to admit it was interesting having Whitney around. However, she knew Falkner thought otherwise considering all of the destruction her visit brought.

"Okay, bye-bye for now! Sorry about all the trouble, Falkner-ani!" Whitney said as Falkner grunted in response.

"It was great meeting you, Whitney." Crystal said with a smile as Whitney returned the notion.

"Yeah, we should hang out sometime, maybe tomo-"

"NO!" Gold cried and pointed towards the door. "Just go, we have to get to school soon."

Whitney pouted at him before waving one final time and skipped out the door without taking notice of what or who was in front of her.

Everyone's eyes widened in horror upon seeing the poor, young man who delivered the newspaper for them everyday. Whitney let out a small gasp when she accidentally bumped into the boy, causing a small explosion to erupt.

Red quickly ran up and took the newspaper from the boy's grasp, spreading it out directly in front of him to prevent him from seeing what was going on behind him.

"Oh! Looks like the president of the Pokemon Fanclub wrote another article of his beloved Rapidash. Hey, thanks for delivering the paper." Red said as Gold and Crystal sweatdropped in the background.

"N-No problem…" the delivery boy said before walking away, obviously confused by Red's strange actions.

After he left, everyone let out a sigh of relief before Gold glared over at Whitney.

"Be more careful, you idiot!" Gold shouted.

"I didn't know a boy would be right there!" Whitney shot-back.

Crystal glanced down to see a frilly, pink sheep with a blue light orb on the end of its tail.

"Look before you sprint, dummy!" Gold continued as a mad-mark appeared over Whitney's head.

Before Red could stop them, Flaaffy unleashed a violent Thundershock on Gold. Crystal let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head in dismay. She hoped this wouldn't turn into a regular routine in the morning.

After an eventful goodbye, Whitney had finally gone off home and Crystal, Gold, and Red were free to go to school.

"Hah, finally. I thought she'd never leave." Gold said, letting his shoulders sag in relief.

Red sniffed a couple time and glanced over at Gold. "You smell like a barbeque."

"It's not my fault she's crazy!" Gold shouted irritably.

Crystal couldn't help but let out a couple chuckles as the two started their routinely insult exchange.

'My paper will definitely be interesting, I know that for sure.'

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Ah! Finally! I'm so glad that this chapter has finally been redone after stupidly deleting it the first time. This was kind of a rush job and I don't like it too much, but oh well. Now I won't have nightmares about this chapter anymore. Hopefully you all enjoyed it. Please review!**

_Whitney Sohma - age 18_**  
**


	5. Crystal's Mistake

_Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Fruits Basket_

Characters:

Crystal Nagareboshi - age 16  
Gold Sohma - age 16  
Red Sohma - age 17  
Falkner Sohma - age 25  
Yellow De Viridian Grove - age 16  
Marley Makkuro - age 16

**Crystal****'s Mistake**

Crystal walked up and down the stalls and placed all the Pokémon's food their food bowls.

Once she was done, she sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Another day's work."

"Thanks Crystal. That really helped a lot." Prof. Oak said coming over before the phone rang. "Be right back."

As Prof. Oak walked out of the room, Crystal remembered the old photo album and went over to the bookshelf.

She found the photo album and flipped through the pages until she found the one with Prof. Oak and his grandchildren.

'I have to remember to ask for their names. Maybe Falkner can get them to meet with Prof. Oak. I bet that would make him really happy.' Crystal thought as she heard Prof. Oak come back into the room.

"Crystal, you have a phone call." Prof. Oak said.

Crystal nodded and went into the other room and picked up the phone lying on the table.

"Hello?"

Her eyes suddenly widened. "What...?"

OOOOOOO

Falkner looked up from his newspaper at Crystal. "What did you just say?"

Crystal looked down at her hands in her lap. "My mom called me during work. She said that she'll be able to come home in a few days."

"That's good news. But why do you look so down about it, I thought you'd be happy that your mother would be coming home." Falkner said.

"Well..." Crystal clenched her fists while clutching the edge of her skirt. "... She told me that she was offered a job in a different city. So..."

Red stared at her in shock as Gold stood in the hallway by the door, listening.

"... Me and my mom will be moving by the end of this week. I have also stayed the amount I was supposed to for my class project." Crystal said closing her eyes.

'I made a mistake... I was only a temporary guest... So why did I let myself think of them...'

Crystal looked up at Falkner and Red who were sitting at the table.

'... as family?'

Falkner sighed. "I do recall the amount of days on that permission slip and the number of days has been fulfilled."

Gold gritted his teeth as his fist started shaking by his side before he walked away from the door and went upstairs.

'She's probably relieved to get out of this house...' Gold thought as he stomped up the stairs. 'Why am I getting so agitated about it?'

Red heard Gold stomp up the stairs and figured he had heard the news.

'He's probably upset because he didn't know.' Red thought.

"This is pretty sudden," Falkner said. "Moving, I mean."

"I know, but since it's Saturday, I'll start packing and move out this evening." Crystal said.

"There's really no need to hurry. We wouldn't mind if you stayed longer." Falkner said as Crystal shook her head.

"I clearly stated that I would leave as soon as the time I was assigned was done." Crystal said looking hard at her hands in her lap.

Crystal slowly got up and opened the door to head upstairs to start packing.

When she got to the top of the stairs, she was surprised to see Gold leaning against the wall in the hallway.

He glanced at her without a hint of emotion before turning his back to her and started walking away.

"Good luck with the new house..." Gold said without turning to look at her.

Crystal looked down at the floor. "Yeah... thanks."

As she packed up her things, she couldn't help but feel really sad about the whole thing.

She didn't understand it. She knew right from the start that her stay was only temporary. But as the days living with the Sohmas went by, she started feeling like she was part of their family.

'That was a big, dumb mistake. I could never be a part of their family. They **_aren't _**my family. They never will be. Only... acquaintances.' Crystal thought to herself.

She put her hand to her face and was shocked to find a single tear. She quickly wiped it away and shook her head to clear her mind.

"Smooch?" Chumee said in concern as she came over to her, noticing the tears forming in her eyes.

Crystal shook her head. "N-No, no. It's nothing... it's just..."

All three of the Sohma boys were like brothers to her. She never had any, but they made her feel like she was truly at home.

Crystal reached over and brought Chumee into an embrace.

Tears started running down her face as Chumee glanced up at her in concern.

'First my dad... and now...'

Downstairs, Falkner sat down at the table drinking a cup of hot tea with Hoothoot taking a nap beside him.

Red was sitting across from his looking down at his folded hands while Gold was lying on the floor with his back facing them.

"I thought for sure that one of you would try to change her mind about leaving." Falkner said as he took a sip of tea.

"Why? We all knew she would leave eventually. Besides, she belongs with her mother." Red said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Even so, the air feels heavy in here." Falkner said.

Gold narrowed his amber eyes. "She shouldn't have been here in the first place. It's not right for an outsider to be here."

Red glanced at him in surprise before sighing.

OOOOOOO

"Well, I'll be going now. Thank you so much for allowing me to stay here." Crystal said bowing as Falkner shook his head.

"We should be the ones to thank you for all you've done for us and this house, especially the kitchen." Falkner said with a sad smile.

With one last goodbye, Crystal walked out the front door with Chumee by her side.

Red looked around before saying, "Where's the stupid cat? Isn't he going to say goodbye to her?"

"He's probably sulking on the roof. But that's one strange way that Gold shows that he cares." Falkner chuckled.

As Crystal walked down the trail, she looked back at the house one more time.

Crystal felt tears threaten to start streaming, but she took a deep breathe before continuing on her way as the sun started to set.

Gold watched her go from on top of the roof. His expression was unreadable, but one could guess that he really was going to miss her even though he would never admit it.

"Ooh ah?" Aitaro squeaked beside him, pointing at Crystal.

"Heh, what? Are you going to miss her?" Gold said patting Aitaro on the head as Aitaro's expression saddened.

After she left, Falkner and Red walked into the kitchen to find a package sitting on the kitchen counter.

(Heat it up when you finish what's in the fridge.) Said the note that was attached to the package.

Falkner smiled after reading the note. "It's only been a few minutes, but I already miss her."

"Yeah... This is going to be one sad house." Red said walking out of the kitchen.

Crystal opened up the door to her house and let out a sigh when she entered.

"It feels like forever since I've been here." Crystal said.

Crystal walked up to her room and placed her bag on her bed. She sat down on the edge of the bed and looked out the window.

'I should start on my report...' Crystal said to herself.

She got up and decided to start packing up the house so her mother wouldn't have to strain herself when she got home.

"Well, let's start packing." Crystal said to Chumee, who just nodded.

As Crystal was slowly packing up everything, her mind kept trailing off.

She remembered how Red and Falkner allowed her to stay with them for her project even though they hardly knew each other then. It wasn't everyday to find someone who would do that.

She also remembered how Gold came crashing through the roof and that's when she found out their secret.

When she was living with them, she was able to learn a little more about Red and Gold.

She was hoping to learn more about them and get to know them better, even Gold.

Though she had to admit, there was more to Gold than she expected.

She suddenly realized what she was thinking about and quickly shook her head, clearing her thoughts.

'I'll still see them at school...' Crystal reassured herself. 'Well, until we move...'

Crystal felt her sadness grow again but shook her head once more to concentrate on the task at hand.

As night fell, Crystal was about a fifth of the way to finishing packing up everything since her thoughts kept drifting off elsewhere.

"I should go visit mom to see how she's doing. What do you think?" Crystal said looking over at Chumee.

"Smooch!" Chumee said happily.

Gold was still lying on top of the roof, staring up at the night sky.

Clouds rolled by, covering up the stars, but the full moon still shone through.

"You know, you're going to catch a cold if you stay out here like this." Red said suddenly appearing from the side just like how Crystal had.

"WAH!" Gold cried as his Meowth ears popped up in shock. "What do you want?"

"Dinner's ready. So hurry up and get your butt down if you want something to eat." Red said in annoyance before going back down.

Gold sighed. 'Why is this bothering me so much...?'

"If I start seeing her face on Red, I'll know I'm going crazy." Gold running a hand through his hair.

"Hi, mom. How are you feeling?" Crystal asked coming to her mother's bedside at the hospital.

She looked over at her and smiled. "Yes, thank you. The doctors say that I may be able to go home in a day or two."

"That's great!" Crystal said with a smile.

Her mother noticed something was bothering Crystal even though she was smiling. "Dear, what's wrong?"

"What? It's nothing!" Crystal said as her mother looked at her with a sad smile.

"Is it because we're moving?"

Crystal's smile faded before looking at the floor and nodded.

"I'm sorry, Crys, but there's really nothing I can do. I need this job." her mother said apologetically.

Crystal shook her head. "Don't apologize, I understand. It's for the best, I know. I can still stay in touch with my friends."

Crystal's mother looked at her in concern; feeling like there was another reason why Crystal was so pained to leave but didn't question her on it, seeing that she would talk about it when she was ready.

Crystal glanced out the window to see the full moon hanging high in the sky.

"The moon looks beautiful tonight." Crystal said as her mother nodded in agreement.

'I wonder if Red and Gold can see it too.' Crystal thought.

OOOOOOO

The fire alarm went off in the kitchen as smoke poured out the door.

"Poli use Water Gun, quick!" Red cried as Poli unleashed a stream of water, dousing the flame that was erupting from the pot on the stove.

"What is going on in here?" Falkner demanded coughing through the smoke as he came into the kitchen.

Red coughed a few times as he waved his hand back and forth to get the smoke away from his face.

Gold came in and used the fire extinguisher on Red, covering him with white foam.

A mad-mark appeared over Red's head as he glared at Gold while wiping the foam from his face. "What the heck was that for, idiot? I'm not the one on fire!"

"Could have fooled me with that haircut of yours." Gold said sticking out his tongue at him.

"Now isn't the time to be fighting you two. Red, what exactly were you doing?" Falkner asked looking at the pot.

"Nagareboshi-san left some beef stew in the fridge and I decided to heat it up for us." Red said. "But of course, I'm not the greatest cook."

"I'll say, you totally scorched it!" Gold said looking into the cooking pot to see the stew was totally black.

"Like you can do any better." Red said rolling his eyes as Gold glared at him.

"I'll have you know that Kurt-jiji taught me how to cook my own meals! Unlike some spoiled little boy who had everything done for him!" Gold shot back as the two glared at each other, causing sparks to fly.

'I'm surprised they haven't actually started fighting yet.' Falkner said to himself.

"Settle down you two. Is there any left of the beef stew that **_isn't _**burned yet?"

Red held up the container. "I only used half of it in case something like this happened."

"You shouldn't have tried it in the first place, moron!" Gold shouted as Red shoved the container at him.

"Here, **_you _**heat it up then." Red said.

"Why me?" Gold shouted.

"You said Kurt-sensei taught you how to cook, so prove it." Red said as Gold gritted his teeth in irritation.

"Fine! Maybe I will!" Gold shouted before throwing Red's burnt stew into the sink and got out another cooking pot out.

As Gold started stirring the beef stew while it was being heated by the stove, Falkner glanced over at Red.

"He's being awfully cooperative, wouldn't you say even if he's complaining most of the time." Falkner said.

Red just shrugged as he walked into the dining room.

After the stew was done, Gold threw the bowls and spoons on the table before pouring the stew into the bowls.

Gold then sat at his end of the table, crossing his arms with an annoyed look on his face.

"Your table setup gets a zero." Red said.

"If you got a problem with it, then you do it!" Gold shot-back.

"Enough already. Can we just eat in peace for once?" Falkner said as they all took a sip of the stew.

Gold put his spoon down as he felt the warmth from that one sip.

"Who knew someone could make beef stew taste that good." Red said as Falkner nodded in agreement.

Gold glanced at the hallway, picturing Crystal's smiling face, before they start arguing with each other.

Red noticed Gold staring into space and knew he was thinking about Crystal.

"Pervert." Red said simply, causing Gold's face to turn red as he glared at him.

"W-What do you mean by that?" Gold demanded as Red looked at him slyly.

"I know you're picturing Nagareboshi-san in your head, which obviously means it's in a perverted sense considering it's you." Red said taking another sip of stew.

"WHAT THE HELL? YOU'RE THE PERVERT FOR EVEN CONSIDERING THAT!"

"I'm not the one thinking about her that way."

"I'M NOT, MORON!"

"Better a moron than a pervert."

"I AM SERIOUSLY GOING TO MURDER YOU!"

"Good luck with that."

'So much for eating in peace.' Falkner sighed as he took another sip of his stew.

OOOOOOO

"Well, I'm half-way done." Crystal sighed closing one of the boxes.

She looked around the room, seeing the empty spaces in different areas of the house. Even though the house still had all the furniture, Crystal couldn't help but find that the atmosphere felt pretty empty.

'I can still stay in contact with them after I move. I can still come down and visit them. It's not like I'll never see them again.' Crystal told herself.

She looked down at the floor. 'But still...'

"Smoochum!" Chumee said coming up from behind her.

"YEEK!" Crystal cried whirling around, but calmed once she saw that it was only Chumee.

"I'm sorry. I was just startled, that's all." Crystal said with a smile as she picked up Chumee.

Chumee knew that something was still bothering her and wanted to cheer her up.

Crystal noticed this and shook her head. "Aw, Chumee. But I'm better off living with my mom. She's the last family I have left after all. Besides, I was only staying at Falkner-san's house for my class project."

Chumee wasn't convinced but also knew she was right.

"That reminds me, I still need to work on that report. Though I still have no idea how to write it." Crystal said sadly.

Outside, someone was watching the house with a pair of binoculars.

"Heh, looks like she's all alone now. No Sohma boys to watch out for her." the man grinned.

The next day at school, Crystal spotted Gold at his locker.

"G-Good morning." Crystal said nervously walking over to him.

Gold looked over in surprise, before turning around and walked away. "Morning."

Crystal watched him go in disappointment before continuing on her way.

She found Red looking at the daily posts and waved at him.

"Oh, good morning, Nagareboshi-san." Red said with a smile.

"Good morning." Crystal said.

"How's your mother?" Red asked.

"She's doing fine. She still has to stay at the hospital for another day, but otherwise she's doing a lot better." Crystal said.

"That's good. Well, I have to get to class. See you later." Red said rather awkwardly but kept his kind smile before walking away.

Crystal waved before looking down at the ground sadly. 'I should have known it wouldn't be the same...'

During class, Crystal noticed that Gold was looking out the window. She tried to get his attention one time, but it was as if he refused to look at her or even acknowledge her.

"Crystal, is everything all right?" Yellow asked tapping her on the shoulder.

"Oh, yeah. Why wouldn't everything be all right?" Crystal said laughing nervously as both Yellow and Marley looked at her in concern.

Gold walked home by himself looking quite sullen.

'What's wrong with me? I saw her today, but why couldn't I talk to her?' Gold thought furiously.

When he opened the sliding door, he spotted Falkner typing something on his laptop.

Falkner looked up and waved with his bored expression. "Welcome home."

Gold grunted in response and went upstairs without a word.

"You could at least say, 'I'm back'..." Falkner said rolling his eyes before continuing his work.

Gold put on a red pullover and went up to the roof again.

He sat Indian-style while staring up at the afternoon sky.

_"Let's start over. Hi, my name is Crystal. But you can call me Crys for short if you want. What's yours?"_

_"I saw that they were broken before so I decided to fix them."_

Gold narrowed his eyes sadly, remembering those times Crystal had reached out to him even if they were small.

Red was tending the garden in the front and glanced up at Gold on the roof and sighed.

"He really does miss her."

_"You shouldn't keep things bottled up. You'll only end up hurting yourself."_

_"But when I lose my memory, can we still be friends?"_

Red smiled sadly. "And quite frankly, so will I."

"I'm home, Chumee." Crystal said coming in the front door as Chumee rushed up to her with a smile.

"I bet you're hungry. I'll go make a quick snack." Crystal said walking into the kitchen.

As she was preparing a snack for the both of them, she heard the front door open.

"Chumee...? Was that you?" Crystal asked nervously.

"SMOOCH!" Chumee cried from the other room.

"Chumee!" Crystal cried as she rushed into the room to see a muscular man with spiky blond hair and dark sun glasses. He was also wore a uniform with a large R in the middle.

He was holding Chumee in the air with one hand as Chumee struggled against his grip.

"Put Chumee down!" Crystal demanded as the man just smirked.

Crystal suddenly felt herself being forcefully pushed to the floor. She let out a squeak of pain as she looked up to see a Skarmory.

"I was beginning to get bored waiting for ya. You sure took your time getting home." the man smirked.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Crystal asked, fear pulsing through her mind.

"I'll be the one asking the questions around here. I want information." the man said as Crystal looked at him questionably.

"You were living in a Sohma home. Am I correct?" he asked with a grin.

Crystal widened her eyes in shock. "H-How did you know that?"

"Heh. We have our sources." the man said as he threw Chumee against the wall.

"Chumee!" Crystal cried as the man walked up to her.

The man grabbed Crystal by the face and forced her to face him.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice to cooperate if you don't want to get hurt, little girl." the man said narrowing his eyes.

Crystal remained silent as fear gripped her.

"Now, tell me about the Sohma family. What are they hiding?"

Crystal didn't know what to do. If she told him, she would only be endangering the Sohmas. And that was the last thing she wanted.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Crystal said boldly.

The man frowned. "Suit yourself. Skarmory."

Skarmory started to dig its talons into Crystal's back, causing her to wince in pain.

"What is that family hiding?" he asked again.

Crystal bit her lip, refusing to talk as Skarmory's talons sunk deeper into her back.

'Someone... anyone... help...' Crystal thought as words failed to escape her mouth.

"Crys!"

'That voice!' Crystal looked up as someone came through the door and kicked the man right in the face.

"Poli, use Bubblebeam!"

Poli appeared at the door and unleashed a barrage of bubbles and sent Skarmory crashing into the wall.

"Crys, are you all right?" someone said taking Crystal's shoulders.

She looked up to see familiar bright golden eyes looking down at her in concern.

"Gold...?" Crystal said as Gold sighed in relief before glaring up at the man.

"Who the hell are you?" Gold demanded with a dangerous look on his face.

The man rubbed his bloody jaw as he got up, his sun glasses dangling on his face.

"Sohmas. Should have known." the man said. "Skarmory, let's go!"

"SKAR!" Skarmory cried as it flew straight through the window.

"This isn't over, Sohma!" the man said over his shoulder before jumping out of the window and hopped onto Skarmory's back and flew off into the distance.

"Wait!" Gold shouted, but the man was gone.

Red rushed into the house with Falkner in a police officer's uniform.

"Nagareboshi-san, are you okay? You're not hurt too bad are you?" Red said coming to her side.

Crystal shook her head as Aitaro helped Chumee to her feet.

Gold sighed in relief then looked at her with guilt as he came and sat in front of her. "I'm sorry..."

Crystal looked at him puzzled. "For what?"

"That man was after you because of us. It's our fault that you were in danger..." Gold said almost inaudibly, but just enough for Crystal to hear.

Touched by his deep concern, tears started to form at Crystal's eyes.

"H-Hey! Why are you crying?" Gold said frantically.

Crystal threw her arms around him crying into his shoulder before he transformed into a Meowth.

Gold glanced at her in surprise before putting a paw on her back to comfort her.

Falkner sighed. "She was probably just shocked by what happened. Looks like the only real damage that was done was the window."

Red stared hard at the window where the man had disappeared. "It's our fault this happened."

Falkner ran a hand through his hair. "Seems like it. We have to be careful."

"No, we have to be careful who we get involved. We can take care of ourselves." Red said narrowing his eyes.

OOOOOOO

"Crys, are you sure you're all right?" Crystal's mother said in great concern as she put a hand to her daughter cheek. "I should have never left you alone like that."

Crystal placed and hand over hers. "It wasn't your fault. I'm fine, just a couple of scratches."

Her mother looked down at the floor for a moment before returning Crystal's gaze. "Crys, I know you may not like what I'm going to say, but... Maybe you should stay here."

Crystal widened her eyes in shock. "What? How can you say that?"

"I'm your mother, I can tell that something else was bothering you besides us moving."

Crystal looked down at the floor. "But mom... How can I just leave you like this? I mean, you need all the help that you can-"

"You're always thinking about me, which really should be the other way around. I want what's best for you, Crys."

"You've done so much for me, mom. How could I ask you to do such a thing? Ever since dad died... I just couldn't..."

A tear suddenly ran down her face. "What? W-Why am I crying?"

Crystal's mother wiped her tear away with her finger and smiled. "You miss them, don't you?"

Crystal's eyes started trembling as another tear ran down her face. "... I want to go back. I never thought leaving the Sohmas would make me feel so sad. They were so kind to let me stay with them... I enjoyed the time we spent together. The truth is... I really didn't want to leave."

Crystal put her arm to her eyes to cover up her tears. "... I actually felt like I was a part of their family... They treated me like family... It's not like I don't appreciate what you've done for me, mom, but I... I sound so selfish right now... but..."

Someone suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder. When Crystal looked up, she saw Red smiling at her.

"Then just come back." Red said with a well-humored smile.

Someone else suddenly grabbed the top of Crystal's head and yanked her backwards, causing her to stumble a little.

"Come on, super-serious gal." Gold grinned before pulling her towards the door.

"Gold? H-Hey! Hold on a second!" Crystal stammered.

"Sorry, if we're intruding, but after today, we really can't allow Nagareboshi-san to get hurt like that again. It's partially our fault she got hurt, so we want to make it up to her." Red said.

Crystal's mother nodded. "I understand. Please, take good care of her."

Red smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. We'll make sure she's safe. We already have her things. She'll definitely keep in touch with you."

"Thank you." Crystal's mother said with a smile.

With a curt bow, Red left to go catch up with Gold and Crystal while carrying a few bags.

Outside a few blocks away, Gold was still dragging Crystal by the head down the street.

"Gold, what in the world are you doing?" Crystal demanded as Gold came to a stop.

"We would have been there sooner..." Gold said as Crystal glanced up at him. "... If you would have left us some directions, we wouldn't have had to depend on Red's horrible sense of direction! And thanks to that, I had to spend all day with him!" (Red went to her house before to help her with her stuff)

_"You're absolutely lost! We need to go back!"_

_"Shut up. I'm sure it's down this way."_

_"You said that ten times already!"_

Crystal looked at him in surprise as a small blush appeared on her face while Gold ran a hand through his hair.

"I just don't understand it... Ever since you left, I got so irritated. It didn't make any sense, so I got even more annoyed! Anyway... If you really didn't want to leave, you should have said so in the first place!" Gold shouted causing Crystal to sweatdrop.

"You know, you could try to think of yourself every once and a while." Gold said looking over at her with a small smile. "You're always doing so much for others, you hardly do anything fun for yourself. It would be fine if you had fun once in a while. It's okay... to let yourself be sad."

Crystal stared at him as he grinned at her, causing tears to start flowing down her face.

Gold sweatdropped as he panicked slightly. "AH! What's wrong now?"

"C-Can we go back now?" Crystal said through her tears. "I want to go back to the house where everyone is..."

Gold blushed as he took Crystal's hand into his and started tugging her down the street again.

"Okay, okay, come on. I'm not going to drag you all the way there." Gold said with an embarrassed grin.

Crystal smiled at him as she spotted Red and Falkner waiting for them.

Both of them smiled at her as they went over and walked beside her.

When they reached the house, Falkner looked over at her. "We're glad to have you back."

"It's good to be back." Crystal said.

"You should have seen Gold, I've never seen him so flustered." Falkner smirked as Gold flinched and quickly let go of Crystal's hand before glaring at him.

"I was not flustered!" Gold shouted while blushing.

"Liar. You were moping around the house like a homeless kitten." Red said as a mad-mark started pulsing from the side of Gold's head.

"Keep talking and I'll kill you!"

"I'd like to see you try."

The two started exchanging insults as Crystal and Falkner both sweatdropped.

"It's not much of a home, but if you'll take it, it's yours." Falkner said.

Crystal smiled at him. "I'll take it."

"Today, you're going down!" Gold shouted.

"Oh, it's on now." Red said with a smirk.

'I now know how to write my report.' Crystal said to herself with a smile.

**To be continued...**

* * *

Hope that wasn't too shabby. Yes, more mangaquestshipping in this one. Ash is always shown to be a really bad cook and ends up burning things, so I transferred that over to Red. Red doesn't seem like he could cook all that well anyways. Hope you enjoyed it, please review!


	6. The Culture Festival

**Characters:**

Crystal Nagareboshi - age 16  
Red Sohma - age 17  
Gold Sohma - age 16  
Marley Makkuro - age 16  
Yellow De Viridian Grove - age 16  
Falkner Sohma - age 25  
Jackson - age 16

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or Pokémon_

**The Culture Festival**

"Falkner, do you think it'd be okay if I told two of my friends where I'm staying? I feel like they should know where I am." Crystal asked while sitting at the living room table.

Falkner glanced up from his newspaper. "Sure, as long as you keep quiet about the curse, it shouldn't be a problem."

Crystal nodded. "Thanks."

"Come on, Slowpoke. We're leaving!" Gold called from the other room.

"Alright, alright! You're so impatient." Crystal said irritably coming over to the door where Gold and Red were waiting.

Gold shrugged and grinned. "You're the one who's so serious about school, super-serious gal."

"There is nothing wrong about being serious, Mr. Lollygagger." Crystal said as Gold put a finger in her ear, indicating that he was ignoring her as he and Red walked out the door.

Crystal sighed exasperatedly as she walked out the door after them.

OOOOOOO

"What?" Yellow cried in shock as they ate their lunches outside after Crystal explained to her and Marley where she was currently staying.

"You actually stayed with Sohma-senpai for your project? And now you're living with him?"

Crystal sweatdropped and scratched her cheek. "Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. There were a lot of things going on, but it's fine now."

"This is all quite shocking." Marley said without a hint of emotion in her voice. "I wonder what would happen if Red's fan-club were to find out."

Crystal imaged the image and sweatdropped.

"Or if Jackson-kun were to find out. I **_was _**wondering why you seemed to be close to the Sohmas." Yellow said thoughtfully.

"Is there an adult guardian there?" Marley asked as Crystal nodded.

"Falkner, he's Gold and Red's older cousin. To tell you the truth, I hardly know him. He never really talks about himself." Crystal said. 'I've never really gotten to know him. Though he does hold a mysterious outlook...'

"You should invite us over sometime, to see how the guys act at home." Yellow suggested.

Crystal thought about if for a moment, then decided they should know what goes on at home, but keep the secret quiet.

"That sounds good. I'll let you know when you can come over." Crystal said as the bell rang.

"Oh! They're going to announce what our class is going to do for the cultural festival! I can't wait; it's going to be so much fun!" Yellow said happily jumping to her feet.

Crystal stood up and followed Yellow towards the classroom with Marley right behind them.

When Crystal and the others entered the classroom, Jackson came up to them.

"Hey, Crystal-chan! You're just in time. They're just about to announce what we're going to do for the culture festival." Jackson said, taking Crystal's hand and bringing her into the classroom.

Gold narrowed his eyes as Jackson and Crystal came over.

"Who's this clown?" Gold asked quite coldly.

Jackson realized Gold was aiming that comment at him and glared at him. "Who are you calling a clown, you punk?"

The two leaned forward and glared at each other, causing murmuring to rise in the classroom.

Crystal glanced uneasily at the two of them before sighing.

She reached over and grabbed Jackson by the ear. "Would you cut it out? You both look stupid."

Gold grunted in annoyance as Red came in and gave their class representative a slip of paper.

"Oh, thank you, Sohma-senpai." the class representative said while blushing while Red just smiled.

"Your class has been chosen to sell onigiri at the culture festival. So all you have to do now is decide what flavors of onigiri to make." Red said, catching everyone's attention.

"Onigiri? That sounds so plain." Crystal said as Gold chuckled.

"Open your eyes, super-serious gal," Gold smirked as Crystal glared at him. "You can do tons of stuff with onigiri. You can stuff all kinds of different foods in them. Like a surprise."

Crystal thought about it and realized Gold's reasoning didn't sound all that bad. It actually sounded like it could be a lot of fun.

"But you're right, that sounds too plain." Gold said leaning back in his chair. "If we're going to do anything with onigiri, we should fight for it!"

"Huh?" Jackson said with a blank expression.

"A one-on-one! Deliberate blood-shed or trying to pull someone's arm off, to defend the honor and right to eat onigiri is one glorious fight! Yeah!" Gold said standing on the desk with his fist raised.

Crystal kicked his desk, causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards. "Definitely **not**."

Gold got back on his feet and glared at Crystal with a mad-mark on his head. "What? You're the one who thought onigiri was too plain! Besides, what's wrong with that idea?"

"Who would get bloody over a ball of rice?" Crystal shot-back as she glared back at him.

"If I may suggest something..." Red said sweatdropping. "Why not a hit-or-miss? People who buy three can choose a fourth one. But you can have 'misses' mixed in with them which will have some strange ingredient or something."

"That's perfect!" one of the students said as the rest agreed, causing Gold to glance at them in shock.

"Why are you all following his dumb idea?" Gold shouted.

"It's not dumb if we all agree on it." another classmate said.

"If any idea was dumb, it would be yours." Jackson said as Gold glared at him.

They all started laughing as Red stared at the group before looking away with a slightly annoyed expression.

Crystal noticed this as Red excused himself and started back to his classroom.

"Hold on, Sohma! I want to ask you something really quick!" one of the students called before Red went out the door.

"Yeah, I have a question too, Red-senpai."

"Sempai, what do you think about this?"

As the questions went on, Gold's annoyance level was getting higher and higher as he listened to all the students wanting Red's opinion.

"Red-senpai!"

"Nya!"

Everyone looked over to see several Skitties and Meowths slumped over Gold's shoulder and brushing against him, much to their surprise.

"What are all those cat Pokémon doing here?" someone said, causing both Crystal and Red's hair to stick up in shock and in anxiety.

"How did they get in here?"

"How cute!"

"G-Gold...!" Crystal said before Gold stood up abruptly.

"Screw it! I don't care anymore!" Gold shouted as he stormed out of the room and kicked the door down as the Skitties and Meowths followed him.

Red let out an exhausted sigh. "I should be getting back to class. Good luck on your onigiri stand."

"Okay, thanks for giving us such a wonderful idea." the class representative said dreamily as Red left.

"He sure has quite the temper, don't you think?" Yellow asked, referring to Gold. "He did something similar when he first transferred into our class. Remember? He jumped out the window."

Crystal sweatdropped. "He's too reckless..."

"Quite the naughty boy." Marley said stoically. "The complete opposite of Sohma-senpai."

Crystal glanced worriedly out the door as the students tried to put the door back up.

Gold was lying on the roof of the building, watching the clouds roll by as the Skitties and Meowths lay on top of him and around him.

"Somehow, I knew you'd be up here." Crystal said suddenly appearing on the side of the roof while standing on the ladder.

"WAH!" Gold cried in surprise as his Meowth ears popped up. "Do you **_have _**to sneak up on me like that?"

"You're just not alert enough." Crystal said as she came up to the roof and picked up one of the Skitties that were lying around.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Gold asked sitting up then grinned. "Worried about me?"

Crystal looked away. "Who would worry about a jerk like you?"

"Aww, you're being shy. How cute." Gold chuckled as Crystal glared at him while blushing.

One of the Skitties came up to her and rubbed against her legs in affection.

Crystal smiled and brought it onto her lap. "Cat Pokémon sure seem to like you."

"Whatever. It's kind of annoying since they just come without being wanted. It's like that for the others as well. Any Pokémon of the same species come to whoever is their corresponding Pokémon." Gold groaned as a Skitty chased its tail in front of him.

"Wow. Prof. Oak would be pretty intrigued by that. It sounds like a good way to gather Pokémon of the same species to study." Crystal said as Gold gave her a look.

"Do you think it's fun? One time when I was at Snowpoint City with Sapph, we were surrounded by dozens of wild Mamoswines! I though we were going to get eaten!" Gold shouted as Crystal started laughing. "It is **_not _**funny!"

"Is that another one of your relatives?" Crystal asked while still giggling.

Gold grunted in annoyance. "Yeah... She's a year younger, but a pure wild child. She gets angry pretty easily." Gold glanced at Crystal. "Kind of like you."

"Hey! It's just because you're such a jackass!" Crystal said as Gold chuckled.

"See?"

Crystal crossed her arms and looked away as Gold grinned.

"Are you going to help out with the preparations for the Culture Festival?" Crystal asked suddenly.

Gold looked over at her in surprise before looking down at the ground. "They don't need me. As long as they ask Red for advice, they'll be fine."

Crystal glanced at him in surprise as Kenta focused intensely on the ground.

"Red has always been smart, knew how to do things, and gets along with everyone. They all look up to him."

"People naturally respect him. They're always saying how talented he is in battling and everything else. Even though I started studying martial arts before him, he's still able to beat me no matter what. Pokémon battles, a one-on-one, it doesn't matter, it all ends the same." Gold said as a small breeze blew at his hair.

_"Red-kun really is special, isn't he?"_

_"Yes, a natural born battler!"_

_"It's because he's the year of the Pikachu, right?"_

_"Yes."_

_"He really is special, especially compared to the children of the Meowth..."_

"It makes me sick..." Gold said narrowing his eyes. "I mean, what do I have to do to be more like that? What can't I... Why can't I be more like **_him_**?"

Crystal widened her eyes in realization as she recalled Red wanting to be more like Gold.

(Later that day)

'I'm surprised that Gold actually wishes to be more like Red and Red wants to be more like Gold. Though they respect each other's qualities, they can't get along,' Crystal thought as she walked down the sidewalk from the grocery store. 'Why is it that they don't notice, the remarkable things about themselves?'

Suddenly, Crystal tripped over something heavy in the middle of the sidewalk and stumbled forward, dropping the bags of rice.

"Oh great... What in the world is-?" Crystal paused as she spotted the thing that she tripped over was a boy wearing a dark blue coat with a white scarf and wore a red beret on his head.

The boy was currently laying face-down on the sidewalk and Crystal wondered if something happened to him.

"H-Hey, are you okay..?" Crystal asked as she tried shaking him.

No response.

Crystal was getting anxious and shook him a little more.

Still no response.

'Could he be...?' Crystal thought fearfully when she suddenly heard a funny noise.

She lifted an eyebrow and then carefully rolled the boy over.

The boy made a loud snoring noise and Crystal realized he was just asleep.

'He's asleep? How do you just fall asleep in the middle of the walkway?' Crystal thought while sweatdropping.

"H-Hey, wake up." Crystal said poking the boy in the arm.

The boy suddenly sat up abruptly, causing Crystal to flinch, not expecting him to sit up that fast or even wake up after she tried shaking him earlier.

The boy looked around with a blank and tired look on his face, looking as if he had no idea where he was.

"Ah, um..." Crystal stammered as the boy scratched his head in confusion as he blinked his dark blue eyes slowly a couple of times.

The boy stood up and scratched his head again. "I think I'm lost."

"Uh, if you need directions, I would be happy to-" Before Crystal was finished, the boy had already walked off, still looking as if he had no idea where he was going.

Crystal sweatdropped. 'Who was that strange boy?'

"Heh, what's with the exasperated look on your face?" Gold chuckled as Crystal came in through the door.

"Some strange little boy was sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk. At first, I though he was dead." Crystal said going into the kitchen.

Gold followed her as he wiped the sweat off his forehead from his afternoon workout with a towel that was slung over his shoulders.

"Someone was sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk?" Gold said puzzled.

Crystal nodded as she started unpacking all the food items she bought at the grocery store. "He had a blue jacket and a white scarf. He was also wearing a red cap, though it looked like something old people wear at a golf course."

Gold sweatdropped as he looked to the side. 'So **_he's _**here.'

"Is all that for the Culture Festival?" Gold said staring at all the rice Crystal had bought.

"Well yes. Did you really think we were going to eat all this rice by ourselves?" Crystal said.

"I dunno. But by eating all that rice, you're bound to get fat." Gold said as a mad-mark appeared over Crystal's head.

"What are you aiming at?" Crystal glared over at Gold.

Gold sweatdropped. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"

"If you're not going to help make onigiri, I suggest you get out of the kitchen." Crystal said as she got the rice cooker running.

Gold shrugged as he went to the refrigerator and got out a bottle of water before walking into the living room.

When Gold came back into the kitchen an hour later he was shocked to see onigiri plates scattered all over the kitchen.

"Are you planning to open an onigiri shop of something?" Gold said in shock with Aitaro on his shoulder.

"There's going to be a lot of people at the Culture Festival, so there has to be a lot of onigiri." Crystal said while shaping an onigiri into a triangle shape.

Chumee was also helping by rolling the rice into balls and passing it to Crystal so she could get the shape and stuff the ingredients inside it.

Gold reached over and picked up a random onigiri on a nearby plate.

"Ah! Hold on, that's a-" Crystal said but Gold had already took a bite out of the onigiri and started chewing.

"... A tofu onigiri."

Gold immediately spit out what was in his mouth, causing Aitaro to fall off his shoulder as Gold bent over the kitchen sink while gagging.

"Why would you even put such crap in there!" Gold shouted with an ill expression.

"I tried to warn you. Besides, you should **_ask _**what something is before shoving it into your mouth." Crystal said rolling her eyes.

Gold wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and shook his head. "The only thing that belongs in onigiri is meat. Anything else is just plain nasty. Whatever, I'll just make my own."

Gold walked over to the rice cooker and quickly rolled a lump of rice in his hands, making an accurately shaped onigiri without much difficulty.

"I didn't know you could do that?" Crystal said who was apparently watching him.

Gold gave her a puzzled look while sweatdropping. "Huh?"

"I would have thought your onigiri would look sloppy. But that was actually pretty impressive." Crystal said as Gold twitched in irritation.

"Kurt-jiji taught me how to make my own meals. I don't think it's that impressive. All onigiri is a ball of rice." Gold said slightly blushing with a prideful smile while taking his onigiri to the living room.

Gold really does have his good qualities, but I still don't understand why he can't see them for himself.' Crystal thought as she continued making onigiri.

The next day...

"Well, look who it is. It's the cat-lover." Jackson said as Gold came into the classroom to help out.

"Why not help us out with the frame, cat-lover." another classmate with dark hair named Corey said.

Gold sweatdropped.

"Yeah, cat-lover." a classmate with red and yellow hair tied into a spiky ponytail named Buck said.

"Just don't go breaking down the door again, cat-lover." a boy with green hair said named Aaron said.

"Why the hell do you keep calling me cat-lover!" Gold shouted. "Are you making fun of me!"

"You may act all tough, but underneath, you're just a nice guy who really likes Pokémon." Jackson cooed while waving a hand in the air.

"Aww." they all said as a mad-mark appeared over Gold's head.

"Oh, shut up!" Gold shouted.

Crystal sighed in relief. 'At least they didn't suspect anything...'

"He sure is noisy." Marley said while drinking a cup of tea.

"H-Hey, hold on!"

Crystal, Yellow, and Marley looked over at the doorway to see Red with two other students.

One of the students who was talking to Red wore a white hat that hid his black hair and also wore spectacles that hid his eyes while the other was a girl with lavender hair and violet eyes.

"Please, senpai. We were hoping you'd wear this for the Culture Festival." the boy said with a grin as the girl next to him nodded.

"We all pitched in to buy the materials for it. Think about it, you'd attract a lot of people." the girl said as an ill expression crossed over Red's face.

"B-But why **_that_**?" Red said twitching.

"Do it for the Culture Festival!" the boy said with a big smile on his face.

Red placed a hand over his face while sweating, unsure what to do in this situation.

"Wear what?" Gold said in interest as a grin crossed the boy's face.

"Ta-dah! A costume for Red-senpai! I made it myself! This is sure to bring in lots of customers!" the boy said triumphantly revealing a rather frilly, yellow costume with several bows and a cape on the back. (Basically, Tadase's outfit in Character Transformation :) Had to put it in there)

Gold muffled a snort of laughter as Red just stared at the costume while twitching as Crystal and the others just stared at it in shock.

OOOOOOO

"I thought I told you not to go out into the city." a young man with dark hair said while rubbing his temples. "You always get lost. Remember how you got lost on your way to the bathroom?"

"I eventually found my way. Anyways, I found this flyer for a Culture Festival. It looks like a lot of fun, Niisan-sensei. Besides, Red-niisan and Gold-niisan are going to be there. And that girl who has been living with them is going to be there too. I think her name is uh.. Crystal-san!"

The man paused and looked over at the boy beside him. "Crystal Nagareboshi? Diamond, have you met her?"

The boy shook his head. "No, but I think she was the girl who tripped over me when I fell asleep in the middle of the sidewalk."

"Again?" the man said as the boy chuckled in embarrassment.

OOOOOOO

"Welcome!" the students said at the onigiri stand at the Cultural festival.

The onigiri stand was a complete success and everyone was coming to buy some.

"Wow, we're doing great on sales." Crystal said.

"We could get first ranking in the food division!" Yellow said excitedly.

"The ones Crystal-chan made are so delicious!" Jackson said with tears streaming down his face.

"I hope you paid for those." Crystal said as Jackson sweatdropped.

"Yeah, the ones that are shaped as Pokémon are adorable." Yellow said as Crystal blushed in embarrassment.

Gold was looking down at a Meowth-shaped onigiri, debating whether he should eat it or not. 'If I eat this, would it make me a cannibal...?'

"But I'm sorry to say that the one who contributed most to the sales is..." Crystal said as she looked over at Red, who was fully dressed in his "kingly" costume with a crown and a royal scepter.

Lots of girls were taking pictures of him and Red had a very sheepish smile on his face, twitching with embarrassment.

"Yeah, because it makes him look like a knight, but..." Yellow said sweatdropping.

"We should be thankful he's putting up with this for our class to bring in all the costumers..." Corey said sheepishly.

Red glanced at Crystal before looking quickly away in shame, causing Crystal to flinch.

"Is he mad?" Crystal said.

"Aw, leave him alone."

Crystal looked over to see Gold sitting against the stand while looking at a magazine.

"He's just utterly humiliated to be dressed like that. The embarrassment is probably too much for him to stand, even if he's Sir Red the Great." Gold said with an evil grin.

"You're so mean." Crystal said as Gold started laughing.

"He's just getting what he deserves."

Crystal glanced back over at Red, who looked like he was about ready to drop dead of embarrassment. 'Even though he's humiliated, Red really is putting up with it for everyone. He really is nice...'

"Red-niisan, is that you?" a voice sounded.

Red widened his eyes in horror as a boy with short black hair and dark blue eyes appeared beside him with a Munchlax by his side, looking up at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Red-niisan are you cosplaying?" the boy said.

'Hey... That's the boy who was asleep in the middle of the road!' Crystal realized in shock. 'Wait, did he call Red, 'niisan'?'

He was still wearing the same hat, but he was wearing a black short sleeved pull over with a red hood. It also had a long silver v-shape in the middle that reached all around to his back instead of his blue jacket and white scarf.

"I knew it. But what is he doing here?" Gold said standing up.

"Do you know him?" Crystal asked.

"Diamond, don't go wandering around by yourself. You know that you always get lost."

Everyone looked over at the doorway to see a handsome young man with dark hair and dark blue eyes. He wore a blue suit with a black turtleneck underneath. He also had a blue hat with spikes on the end and wore a gold necklace in the shape of Groudon's symbol.

He also had a gruff looking Lucario at his side, who darted its eyes back and forth as if searching for something.

The man looked over at Red and smiled. "You look well, Red, Gold."

"Riley..?" Red gasped in shock but was cut off by all the girls letting out shrieks of joy.

"KYAAAA! Is he a friend of yours Red-senpai?"

"He's so handsome!"

"So cool!"

"So cute!" (Directed at Dia)

"I'm Diamond Sohma, Dia for short, and this is my older brother, Riley Sohma. We're both relatives of Red-niisan and Gold-niisan." Dia said with a ditzy smile on his face.

"Really?" Crystal said in surprise as Gold narrowed his eyes while looking at Riley.

"Yeah, but forget about Dia. What is**_ Riley _**doing here?"

"That being said, Red... Why are you wearing that? Or should I say, Tadase." Riley chuckled as a mad-mark appeared over Red's head.

"S-Shut up! What are you doing here anyways?" Red said blushing in embarrassment.

"What? Do I need a reason to come and visit my two favorite relatives?" Riley said with a sheepish smile while putting his hands up as Red looked at him suspiciously, knowing he was obviously lying.

Riley looked over at Crystal and raised an eyebrow. "Ah, you must be Crystal Nagareboshi, right? I've heard quite bit about you."

"Y-Yes." Crystal replied nervously.

Riley smirked. "You really are a 'normal' girl. Interesting..."

Crystal blinked in confusion as Red glared at him.

"Riley...!" Red scolded, guessing what Riley was thinking.

"Hey! Cut it out!"

Red and Crystal looked over to see Dia eating some onigiri from the stand with one hanging out of his mouth.

"What are you doing, you idiot?" Gold shouted as he put Dia in a headlock.

Dia sputtered and coughed as Gold continued hassling him.

"Dia..." Red sighed with a sweatdrop.

"Gold, you're choking him!" Crystal scolded as she rushed over to them.

After Crystal was out of ear-shot, Red looked over at Riley suspiciously. "Why are you here?"

"If you got a problem with it, take it up with Diamond. He's the one who brought me the flyer." Riley said with a laid-back smile. "Besides, it gives me the excuse to leave the main house for a few hours."

Red sweatdropped. "So the only reason you came was to get out of work?"

"Yes, but I'm also suppose to look after Diamond today, mother's orders." Riley said as Dia was running away from Gold with an onigiri in his mouth.

"You're not doing a very good job of it." Red said blankly.

"I don't see why the boy needs a chaperone. He's big enough to watch out from himself." Riley said blankly, oblivious to how much trouble his brother was actually causing.

Lucario sweatdropped as Riley patted it on the head.

Red narrowed his eyes as him as Riley glanced down at him with a dark smile. "Don't worry; I didn't come here to do anything to Crystal Nagareboshi. Cyrus-sama is the one who makes that decision..."

Red shot Riley a harsh glance.

"But I will say this..." Riley said in a warning tone before grinning. "... You won't get very far if you try to threaten me in **_that _**outfit."

"Shut up." Red said in frustration while blushing.

Gold managed to get Dia behind the stand and put him in another headlock.

"Just stay here and stay out of trouble!" Gold shouted as Dia struggled against his grip.

"Gold!" Crystal scolded before coming over and hit him over the head.

"What are you doing?" Gold shouted, letting go of Dia.

"You look like a bully picking on a little boy." Crystal scolded as Gold rubbed the back of his head.

"He's not little; he's only two years younger than we are." Gold shot-back as Dia popped another onigiri into his mouth.

Gold noticed this and placed a hand on Dia's head, pushing him over a little. "You better be willing to pay for all the onigiri you ate."

Dia chuckled nervously as he sweatdropped. "Yeah..."

"This is the idiot you found lying in the middle of the road, right?" Gold asked looking over at Crystal as she nodded. "I figured it was him. So why are you here?"

"Is that something to say to someone you haven't seen in a while?" Dia said with a laid-back smile, causing Gold to get irritated. "Besides, the Culture Festival sounded like fun. Gives me the chance to try different kinds of food."

Gold sweatdropped. "I should have known you would only come for the food..."

"So, you're part of the Sohma family, right?" Crystal asked coming over as Dia nodded with his mouth full of onigiri. "Are you part of the Zodiac? Which one are you?"

Dia flinched at the question and almost choked on his food, causing him to sputter and cough.

"Are you okay?" Crystal asked patting him on the back.

When Dia regained his composure, he stared blankly at the wall for a couple of moments before giving Crystal a happy-go-lucky smile. "This onigiri is really amazing! I wonder who made it."

Crystal looked at him puzzled as Gold grinned evilly.

"Heh, changing the subject, huh? You're so self-conscious." Gold chuckled with a grin on his face.

Crystal looked over at him with an eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you'll love this. He's actually the-" Gold was interrupted by Dia putting a hand on his shoulder.

**"Gold-niisan." **Dia said as a dark aura surrounded him, but kept his smile causing Gold to sweatdrop. **"If you tell her, I'll be forced to tell her about all the embarrassing things you've done, starting from when you were ten years old. Like that time when you mistook that guy as a-"**

"Okay! Sorry, Crys, but you're probably not interested in knowing which Pokémon he is! Ehehehe..." Gold laughed nervously as Crystal sweatdropped.

'Is there really a funny Pokémon in the Zodiac?' Crystal thought. 'I don't recall there being one...'

"Diamond, we should get going, don't you think?" Riley asked moving the curtain.

"Aww, I haven't gone to all the stands yet." Dia whined.

"Just go home already!" Gold shouted.

Dia's Munchlax was sitting against the stand, eating an onigiri that had rolled onto the floor.

"Here, Munchlax. Here, boy."

Munchlax looked up to see someone waving a honey stick at the doorway.

Hearts formed at Munchlax's eyes as it happily trotted over towards the food.

The stranger disappeared and went down the hall, tempting Munchlax to follow, which it did.

Munchlax happily followed the honey stick down several hallways, until it reached a dead end.

"Munch?" Munchlax said in confusion while scratching its head.

"Caught ya."

"Munch!" Munchlax cried when someone suddenly grabbed it from behind and sent volts of electricity coursing through its body.

Munchlax immediately fainted and a man with spiky blond hair, wearing a soldier uniform came up from the shadows.

"Good job, Electabuzz. Now, all we have to do is wait and let them come to us." the man said with an evil grin as his Electabuzz grinned as well.

"Hey, has anyone seen Beh?" Dia asked looking around for his missing companion. "He was leaning against the Onigiri stand last I saw him."

Lucario felt a disturbance and growled.

"Lucario?" Riley said looking over to his companion.

Lucario suddenly bolted out of the room and down the hallway.

"What's wrong?" Red asked as Riley shook his head.

"I don't know." Riley said before taking off after Lucario.

Lucario rushed down the hallways, sensing Beh's aura moving.

When it made its way outside in the courtyard, it jumped to the top of the school buildings to get a better view.

Lucario paused as it sensed Beh's presence nearby when suddenly several Magnetons appeared around it and zapped it with a Thunder Wave attack, paralyzing it.

"RAHHHHH!"

**To be continued...**

* * *

This one was a little hard to think out, but in the end I think it went pretty well. Bet you can't guess who the boy who was trying to get Red to wear that costume was. :D Anyways, hope you enjoyed it! Please Review!

_Characters:  
**Diamond (Dia) - age 14  
Riley - age 25  
Corey(from the Pokemon First Movie/ I don't know, for some reason I really like him even if he didn't have that big of a part in the movie) - age 16  
Buck (from Diamond/Pearl/Platinum versions) - age 16  
Aaron (from Diamond/Pearl/Platinum versions) - age 17**_

I found a couple of videos on YT that showed if the Pokemon Special was made into a anime, what would their voices sound like. These are just my opinion, so feel free to say which ones you would pick for them.

Red - Jason Liebrecht (Syaoran from Tsubasa)  
Green - Doug Erholtz (Musica from Rave Master; Asuma Sarutobi from Naruto)  
Blue - Kate Higgins (Sakura from Naruto; Karin Kurosaki from Bleach)  
Yellow - Hayden Panettiere (Kairi from Kingdom Hearts (not the voice in 2 but 1)  
Gold - Jason Anthony Griffith (Sonic from Sonic X; Sir Aaron from Pokemon)  
Silver - Yuri Lowenthal (Sasuke from Naruto; Luke from Tales of the Abyss)  
Crystal - Michelle Ruff (Rukia from Bleach; Naomi from Zatch Bell)  
Ruby - Vic Mignogna (Ed from Fullmetal Alchemist; Tamaki from OHSHC; Fai from Tsubasa; Dark from DNAngel)  
Sapphire - Veronica Taylor (May from Pokemon)  
Emerald - Colleen O'Shaughnessey (Genis from Tales of Symphonia)  
Diamond - Greg Ayres (Satoshi from DNAngel; Kaoru from OHSHC)  
Pearl - Jamie McGonnigal (Barry from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl)  
Platina - Emily Bauer (Dawn from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl)


	7. Team Rocket

**Characters:**

Crystal Nagareboshi - age 16  
Red Sohma - age 17  
Gold Sohma - age 16  
Marley Makkuro - age 16  
Yellow De Viridian Grove - age 16  
Falkner Sohma - age 25  
Riley Sohma - age 25  
Diamond (Dia) Sohma - age 14

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or Pokémon_

**Team Rocket**

Riley rushed down the hallway, sensing that something was wrong.

'Lucario, where did you go?' Riley thought to himself as he tried to pinpoint Lucario's exact location while sprinting down a stairwell.

He suddenly heard a zapping noise and quickly ran to the stairway that led to the roof.

"Niisan-sensei!" Dia called after Riley, but Riley had already disappeared down the hallway.

Dia ran after him as the students started talking nervously amongst themselves.

"What's going on?"

"Is something bad happening?"

"Maybe we should call the teacher."

Crystal started to feel panic rising from the students and became worried that the problem may grow if the school got involved.

Red was standing behind the group of students, thinking about what he should do to drive the students' attention away from the little dilemma.

A thought struck him as he started sweating like crazy, when finally...

"Did my heart love till now? Forswear if, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night."

Everyone paused and looked over at Red, who was still sweating nervously.

'I hope this works...' Red said to himself.

Red twitched in embarrassment as he suddenly grabbed the nearest person and got down on one knee while holding that person's hand.

"They may seize on the white wonder of dear Juliet's hand and steal immortal blessing from her lips, who, even in pure and vestal modesty, still blush, as thinking their own kisses sin." Red said with a smile while sweatdropping.

Crystal sweatdropped, seeing that the person Red grabbed was Yellow.

"What the **_hell _**is he doing?" Gold said. "And what is all that nonsense he's spouting?"

Crystal realized what Red was doing and grabbed Gold by the arm and pulled him towards the door.

"First of all, he's quoting Shakespeare. Second, he's diverting everyone's attention!" Crystal said in a hushed whisper as Gold mouthed an "oh".

"KYAAA! That's just adorable!" one of the classmates gushed.

"Lucky..."

"Red-senpai is so romantic!"

"He looks so kingly!"

"Red-senpai, be my Romeo!"

Red twitched in irritation as he fought to hold his composure.

'Hold it together, Red. Just divert their attention a little longer...' Red told himself.

Yellow blushed heavily at what was going on. "Uh... S-Sohma-senpai..."

'What else am I suppose to say?' Red thought furiously as he looked down at himself before sweatdropping.

'...'

Red slowly looked up at Yellow, with a nervous and some-what worried look as the all the girls in the room watched with anticipation.

"I'm just going to come out and say it." Red said as his eye started twitching again.

'This is ridiculous... I have never been so humiliated in my life! At least Gold isn't here to make it worse...' Red said to himself as he looked away for a moment before looking back at Yellow to finish his lines.

"Right now, I'm not the strong person I am when I character change. But I want to say this... If you'll let me!" Red said as he started sweating again.

Yellow felt her face getting hotter and hotter as she started trembling. She couldn't figure out how long she'll be able to hold out with this many people staring at her.

"Even like I am now..." Red said biting his lip, trying to force the words out. "... Will you let me fall in love with you?"

Everyone in the room burst out in amazement and applauded Red for his wonderful performance.

"KYAAAAAA! SO CUTE!"

"AMAZING!"

"THAT WAS PERFECT!"

"SO WONDERFUL!"

'Kill me now...'

The boy who had made Red's costume started taking pictures of him and Yellow with a giant grin on his face.

"Beautiful! Just absolutely beautiful!" the boy cried as Red felt like he would drop dead any second while Marley just watched from the side-lines eating an onigiri.

OOOOOOO

When Riley finally made it to the top, he threw open the door leading to the roof and stared in shock as Lucario was being zapped by several Magnetons.

"Lucario!" Riley called as Lucario immediately perked up at the voice of its master.

Riley rushed towards his partner, but before he could reach him, several Electrodes, Voltorbs, and Magnemites appeared, surrounding him along the perimeter of the roof top.

"Wahahaha! Looks like I bagged myself an important member of the Sohma family!"

Riley whirled around to see a man with spiky blond hair wearing a uniform similar to those who fought in the Vietnam War.

"Who are you?" Riley asked narrowing his eyes.

"I should ask you the same thing? What is your position in the Sohma family?" the man said.

"I have nothing to say to the likes of you." Riley said rather darkly as the man grinned.

"Well then, prepare for the shock of your life by Lt. Surge!"

Riley glanced from side-to-side to see all the electric Pokémon charging up electricity.

"Hm, looks like I got myself into a little predicament." Riley commented as the electric Pokémon sent their electric attacks at him from all directions.

Riley smirked before getting down on all fours and pushed himself off the ground, jumping high into the air.

"Wah?" Lt. Surge cried in shock at how high Riley had jumped as the electric attacks collided with each other, causing a giant explosion.

Riley jumped out of the way of the explosion and landed in front of Lt. Surge with a smirk. "Do you honestly believe you could get me that easily?"

Lt. Surge gritted his teeth before attempting to punch that smirk off his face.

Riley quickly ducked out of the way and jumped away from him as a Voltorb came charging in his direction.

[Voltorb!] The electric ball Pokémon cried as it came at Riley with a Spark attack.

Riley lifted a hand and an aura shield appeared surrounding him as the Voltorb struck the shield and was thrown back to the ground with tremendous force..

"How is that possible?" Lt. Surge cried as Riley smirked.

"I've been training as an Aura Warrior, that's all."

The Voltorb that bounced off the shield was headed towards one of the Magnetons surrounding Lucario.

It struck the Magneton in the back, causing it to fall forward and slam facedown into the ground.

The Magnetons looked over at their fallen comrade, turning their attention away from Lucario.

Seeing its chance, Lucario rose to its feet and fought back using Aura Sphere, knocking out the remaining Magnetons, sending them collapsing to the ground with giant X's on their eyes.

Lucario jumped over to Riley's side as the remaining electric Pokémon started closing in on them.

Riley glanced over at Lucario who glanced at him.

They both smirked before a long glowing staff-like bone appeared in Lucario's paws.

"Rah!" Lucario cried as it lunged towards the attacking Pokémon.

Riley rushed towards them before attacking in a fury of kicks.

Lucario easily took out the rest with one swing of its Bone Rush.

In no time, Lt. Surge's electric Pokémon army was quickly taken care of.

"Hm, I thought this would be more challenging." Riley said cracking his neck.

Lt. Surge started shaking with rage before an evil grin appeared on his face.

"You want a challenge; I'll give you a challenge!" Lt. Surge said as the Magnetons attached to his arms and the Voltorbs and Electrodes shrunk in size and became a part of his belt that was slung across his chest.

Riley raised and eyebrow as Lucario growled threateningly.

"Take this!" Lt. Surge shouted as he threw a couple of Voltorbs from his belt and threw them at Gen and Lucario.

The Voltorbs used Selfdestruct right in front of them, sending them flying backwards.

"Discharge!" Lt. Surge commanded as he pointed the Magnetons on his arms at them, sending a wave of electricity at them.

Lucario jumped back to his feet and got out its bone staff again and spun it around in its paws, deflecting the Discharge attack.

Riley skidded to a stop and pushed off the ground before lunging at Lt. Surge again, attempting another kick.

But Lt. Surge blocked the attack with his arm and shot another Discharge from his Magneton at Riley.

Riley quickly put up a shield, blocking the attack before kicking the Magneton off Lt. Surge's arm.

Lt. Surge let out a grunt of pain before Riley got under his defenses and kicked him right in the gut with tremendous force.

Lt. Surge fell to his knees while putting one hand to his stomach as he panted.

"Lucario, use Metal Claw!" Riley commanded as razor sharp claws formed where Lucario's spikes were.

Lucario lunged towards Lt. Surge and struck the Magnetons and Voltorbs that were attached to him, causing them to fall to the ground in a heap.

Lt. Surge looked around wide-eyed before looking down at the ground as if defeated.

"It's over. Give up." Riley said crossing his arms as Lucario grunted in agreement.

Lt. Surge looked up with a grin on his face. "It's not over until the fat lady sings!"

A powerful Thunderbolt came careening down in front of them.

Riley and Lucario jumped out of the way as Lt. Surge's Electabuzz appeared with a tied up Munchlax by its side.

"Munch!" Munchlax cried out desperately as it struggled against the ropes that bound it.

"You're the ones who are going to give up! Or else this little fatso gets it!" Lt. Surge threatened.

Riley heard a noise coming from behind him and glanced over at Munchlax with indifference.

"Now, why would I waste my efforts to save that little thing?" Riley said quite coldly as Lucario looked at him in shock.

Munchlax looked at Riley in horror as Lt. Surge gave him a puzzled look.

Lt. Surge suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder and looked over to see an Aipom before it smacked him in the face with its tail.

"GAH!" Lt. Surge cried as the attack caught him off guard and fell to the ground.

"Aitaro use Sand Attack!" Gold commanded coming up from the side as Aitaro threw sand right into Electabuzz's eyes.

"BURUZZ!" Electabuzz cried in pain as it tried to rub the sand from its eyes.

"Beh!" Dia cried rushing over.

"Oh no you don't! Electabuzz, stop him!" Lt. Surge commanded as Electabuzz recovered from Aitaro's sand attack and jumped over in front of Dia, stopping him in his tracks.

Electabuzz's arms started pulsing with electrical energy as it was about to use Thunder Punch on Dia.

"Lucario, stop it with Close Combat!" Riley commanded as Lucario charged towards Electabuzz and quickly gave it several punches and kicks before knocking it out with a final blow from its tail.

"Electabuzz!" Lt. Surge cried as Gold snuck up behind Beh and undid the ropes.

"Beh! You're all right!" Dia cried in relief as Beh rushed over to him and jumped into his arms, nearly knocking him over.

Riley smiled dumbly. "Why should I waste my energy rescuing Munchlax when someone else was going to do it anyways?"

Gold looked at him blankly as Lucario sweatdropped. "You're just lazy."

"Aitaro, let's finish things off with a Focus Punch!" Gold commanded pointing at Lt. Surge.

"AI-POM!" Aitaro cried as its tail lit up and punched Lt. Surge, who tried his best to block the impact by putting up his arms.

"Dammit...!" Lt. Surge cursed as he quickly recalled Electabuzz and revealed he was wearing a jet pack.

"You haven't heard the last of Team Rocket! We'll find out what you Sohmas are hiding!" Lt. Surge shouted as he prepared to take off.

Before he could, Riley ran up to him and grabbed his face, placing his hand over his eyes. A sudden flash went off as Riley let go of Lt. Surge, allowing him to fall backwards off the building.

"Oh no!" Dia cried before Lt. Surge went soaring into the air, a bit out of control on his jetpack.

"WAAAHHHHH!" Lt. Surge cried as he disappeared into the distance.

Gold sweatdropped as Dia watched him fly away in a zig-zag pattern with a blank expression.

"Team Rocket, eh?" Riley said quietly as Crystal came rushing from the stairs.

"Is everyone okay?" Crystal called.

She suddenly tripped over a piece of rubble, causing her to fall forward.

Riley turned around and was caught off guard when Crystal fell into his arms. "Eh?"

A mini explosion erupted as silver-grayish smoke appeared surrounding the area.

Once the smoke cleared, Crystal slowly opened her eyes to find herself on top of a Mightyena.

"Do you mind getting off me?" Mightyena said as Crystal immediately jumped off.

"S-So you're the Mightyena?" Crystal said as Gold sighed.

"Good going, miss clumsy." Gold said with a sheepish smile while Aitaro started laughing on his shoulder as Crystal glared at him.

"Niisan-sensei, are you all right?" Dia asked coming over with Beh in his arms.

Riley nodded. "Yes, but we should get going before I transform back."

"I understand..." Dia sighed. "It's a good thing Red-niisan threw those students off or else things would have really been bad."

Gold chuckled. "Yeah, all he has to is fool the gullible-"

Before Gold could finish his sentence, someone came up below him and punched him high into the sky.

"Keep talking like that and I'll send you flying **_off _**the roof." Red said with a dangerous look on his face.

Gold cursed while holding his jaw as a little bit of blood dripped down.

"So is everything all right-" Red paused when he saw Riley as a Mightyena. "Uh, Riley..."

"Don't ask." Riley said raising a paw. "Anyways it's best to be going now."

Dia nodded as Lucario picked up Riley's clothes. "We'll see you guys later."

As the two started walking away, Riley paused and looked back over at them.

"Oh, I almost forgot something important." Riley said as Gold raised an eyebrow. "Red, Gold. Line up over there."

"Huh?" Red and Gold said puzzled as they did what Riley asked them.

"Right, now I want a concise answer from you two." Riley said quite seriously as Gold and Red waited intently.

"What is two plus one?"

"Three?" Gold and Red said at the same time with a puzzled look as Dia suddenly snapped a picture of them with a camera he pulled up from no where.

Both Gold and Red stiffened as Dia smiled with a dim expression on his face.

"I was told to take a picture of you two when I came here for the New Year." Riley said with a smirk as he started walking away with Dia who had his arms behind his head. "That was a great two-shot. Later."

"Bye bye!" Dia and Beh waved, leaving Gold and Red sweatdropping.

"Dia! Give me that camera!" Gold shouted while rushing after them.

Crystal chuckled sheepishly. 'I didn't really find out that much about those two. Maybe I'll see them again. But I do wonder why Diamond didn't want to talk about what his Zodiac was...'

"My life is over..."

Crystal turned around to find Red on his hands and knees, looking as if the world was going to end in an instant for him.

"What are the others going to say when they see me in this..? I will be mocked for the rest of my life... They will never let me live this one down." Red said in a depressed and hopeless tone.

Crystal sweatdropped, not quite sure what she could to cheer him up.

"Well, uh... Tadase-kun is very... cute?" Crystal said as Red glared at her.

"I guess I'm not helping..." Crystal said sweatdropping.

* * *

"Those idiots! Where did they go?" Gold growled in frustration as he looked from side-to-side.

He ran down a hallway to see if they had gone that way, but they were no where in sight.

"Damn them!" Gold cursed as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration, knowing he had lost them with the embarrassing photo of him and Red.

Red and Crystal came up behind him as Gold sighed in exasperation.

"Did you get the camera back?" Red asked as Gold whirled around while sweatdropping.

"No! They disappeared!" Gold said.

Red sighed again as he put a hand to his head. "If this day wasn't bad enough..."

Crystal glanced out the window, wondering what that man wanted and if he was connected to the other guy who had attacked her at her house.

"Oh. Nagareboshi-san."

"What?" Crystal asked, snapping out of her trance as Red looked at her with a serious expression.

"It's about Riley. If you ever meet him again, avoid being alone with him."

Crystal widened her eyes in surprise. "Why?"

"Well... We don't necessarily trust Riley. He acts very suspicious at times. But remember the incident I told you about, when my secret was discovered? The one who erased all of their memories... was Riley himself." Red said as Gold narrowed his eyes.

"He won't hesitate to carry out Cyrus' orders. He's like a puppet. It's like he has no sympathy for others no matter how silly he may act." Gold said.

Crystal was shocked. She would never guess Riley was that kind of person.

"Then what about, Diamond? He's Riley's little brother, right?" Crystal asked anxiously.

"I wouldn't worry about him. He's almost the complete opposite of Riley. He's an airheaded idiot." Gold said leaning against the wall with his hands behind his head.

"Anyways, that's why I was a little concerned and thought I should tell you." Red said.

**"Paging Crystal Nagareboshi-san from class 2-D, Crystal Nagareboshi-san from class 2-D... Please come to the first floor conference room immediately. I repeat..." **someone said over the intercom.

"Hm? I wonder what it is." Crystal said. "I'll be right back."

Crystal hurried over to the conference room with thoughts about Riley swirling in her head.

'Could he really be that heartless...?'

"You called?" Crystal asked as she opened the door, before freezing.

"Hello. I'm sorry for calling you here like this. But with Gold and Red around, I didn't think I'd get a chance to speak to you." Riley said sitting in a chair by a table, back to normal and full clothed.

'Crap. I was just warned about him a few minutes ago!' Crystal panicked as Riley got up and walked over to her before handing her a slip of paper.

"What's this?" Crystal asked.

"The address to the Sohma Family's main house. Come visit on your next day off. There's something that needs to be discussed." Riley said with a smile as Crystal nervously took the piece of paper. "Don't mention this to Red or Gold."

Crystal sweatdropped. 'I wonder what this could be about. Could he be thinking about erasing my memory? Or could it be something important?'

"O-Okay..." Crystal said sheepishly.

"Don't worry, I'll be there too!" Dia said suddenly coming up behind her with a huge smile, causing Crystal to flinch. "So come visit us!"

"Uh, okay..." Crystal said sheepishly as Riley looked at Dia in annoyance.

Crystal noticed this before Riley quickly went back to smiling.

Gold did say that Dia was trustworthy, I guess I would feel better with him there. But I wonder why I can't tell Red and Gold.' Crystal said looking over at Riley, who had a suspicious look on his face, causing her own suspicion of him to rise.

Lt. Surge flew over to an office building and landed on the roof.

A couple of men in black appeared with giant red R's in the front came over to him and saluted.

"The boss is waiting for you." one of them said.

Lt. Surge grunted in acknowledgment and went inside the building.

He slowly strode down a long hallway before coming up to a door at the end.

He paused for a moment before opening the door and stepping inside.

"Lt. Surge here."

Inside the darkened room were many reports and pictures framed all along the walls and bookshelves packed with books.

In the middle of the room were a large desk and a man sitting in a chair that was facing the large window in the back.

"Well?" the man asked as Lt. Surge looked at him puzzled.

"Well, what?" Lt. Surge said scratching his head.

"The mission!" the man shouted as he spun his chair around to face Lt. Surge, his eyes narrowed in anger.

Lt. Surge flinched at his boss' anger as he tried as hard as he could to remember how the mission went, but he pulled up a blank.

"I-I can't remember what happened! I don't even remember going out!" Lt. Surge cried as he got down on his knees.

The man's expression relaxed slightly as he folded his hands and tucked them under his chin. "You can't remember **_anything _**about the mission?"

Lt. Surge scratched his head. "I remember being assigned the mission, but I don't remember setting out or even what happened."

"Very interesting..." the man said narrowing his eyes.

The man leaned back in his chair. "For years, I've tried to figure out what those fools were hiding. But all paths led to dead ends."

"How do you even know that they are even hiding anything?" Lt. Surge asked.

"What a fool you are. They somehow wiped your memory, which clearly shows that they are indeed hiding something." the man said. "And I will not stop until I figure out what exactly they are hiding."

* * *

"Team Rocket?" Falkner asked looking up from his newspaper.

"Yeah, it was similar to that guy who attacked Nagareboshi-san before." Red said putting on a black shirt, relieved to finally get out of that costume.

Crystal looked at Falkner and noticed he didn't look too surprised.

"It was all taken care of though." Gold said.

"No it's not, you stupid cat." Red said sternly as Gold shot him a look. "There are people out to get us. And they're going to keep coming after us until they get what they want. Everyone around us is at risk of getting hurt."

Gold's expression softened as he looked to the side, realizing that he was right.

"There have been sightings of suspicious looking people walking around the outside of the main house. The police are on the case, but we obviously have no leads. People on the inside are getting anxious." Falkner said.

"But why would they suspect us? No one else knows about the curse except Nagareboshi-san and she hasn't said anything about it to anyone else." Red said.

Falkner put a hand to his chin, deep in thought. "I don't know."

He glanced over at Crystal, who was deep in her own thoughts.

Falkner narrowed his eyes. 'Something has to be done though...'

(Few Days Later...)

"Hey! Where's Crys? Was she attacked by those goons again? Was she kidnapped?" Gold shouted as he flung the sliding door to the living room open in alarm.

"Oo-ah! Oo-ah!" Aitaro cried while waving its arms frantically.

"Nagareboshi-san said at dinner that she was going to a friend's house, remember?" Red said calmly while watching TV at the table.

Poli was sitting next to him snacking while watching the TV as well.

"Huh? She did?" Gold said with a blank expression on his and Aitaro's faces.

Red sighed. "Can't you even listen to people when they're talking?"

Gold glared at him while blushing in embarrassment.

"Shut up! Anyways, where did Falkner go?" Gold said seeing that Falkner was also missing.

"He was called to the office." Red said as Gold glared at him.

"Smart aleck."

"Idiot."

"Stop calling me an idiot!"

"You can't change what you can't change."

- (At the Sohma Estate) -

Crystal was stunned at how magnificent the Sohma estate was just by looking at the gates. She started feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"Hey! Crystal-san!"

"WAH?" Crystal cried before looking up to see Dia waving at her from the top of the gate.

"You're right on time! I'll open up the gate for you!" Dia called as he jumped down on the other side.

The gates opened slowly and Crystal hesitantly walked through.

"Welcome to the Sohma estate! You're wanted over here." Dia said pointing down a stone path.

'Even the grounds are huge. It's like a little town.' Crystal thought while looking around. 'Though... the silence really isn't doing a thing for my nerves.'

"You don't need to be scared. I heard you're just going to talk." Dia said looking over his shoulder.

"Eh? H-How d-did you know I was-"

"I can just tell." Dia said with a smile before facing forward again.

Crystal stared at him in surprise as they made it to the porch that led to one of the houses.

Dia opened the sliding door to reveal Falkner sitting in a chair at a desk.

"F-Falkner?" Crystal cried in shock.

"Hey, Crys! Long time no see, well not really." Riley said suddenly appearing as Crystal flinched. "Anyways, I'll be on my way!"

"Hold on! I thought we were going to talk!" Crystal said in utter confusion.

"I never said I was inviting you over so **_I _**could talk to you. I just commented that we should have talked a little more." Riley said as Crystal sweatdropped. "Have a nice talk!"

"W-Where are you going?" Crystal asked.

"Someone in the family is running a fever so as the family doctor; I have to see to them." Riley said as he waved while walking away.

Crystal sighed in relief. 'At least he's not going to wipe my memory...'

"Diamond-kun, can you get us some drinks?" Falkner asked as Dia nodded before going into another room. "Crys, sit wherever you like."

"What are you even doing here, Falkner?" Crystal asked as she took a seat on one of the pillows on the floor.

"Riley told me about the incident a little bit after it happened. So I got Riley to ask you to come here. I wanted to talk to you about something privately away from Gold and Red." Falkner said with a dead-serious expression, causing Crystal to get a little nervous. She's never seen Falkner look so serious.

"When Cyrus-san allowed you to stay in my house and allow you to know our secret, I was very surprised. Normally, they would have their memories suppressed immediately. Even inside the family, there are very few people who know about the secret. It was a complete surprise that Cyrus-san would allow someone like you to know the secret."

Falkner paused while looking away as Crystal's heart started beating rapidly.

"I've been thinking about it and I've come to a conclusion."

"A-about what?" Crystal asked nervously.

Falkner glanced back at her. "I know we brought you back to the house so that we can protect you. But... Things are getting way out of hand. I think it would be best if you don't involve yourself with us anymore."

**To be continued...**

* * *

Yay! This one took so long! I went to camp for a week, so I'm sorry if I couldn't post this sooner. Do you have any guesses on some of the characters who have shown up or have been spoken of? I put so many hints! If you've watched or read Shugo Chara!, you probably have noticed that Red's "confession" was taken from what Tadase said to Amu in episode 74. It may seem like I was making fun of Tadase in this chapter, and I was, but I am a total Tadase fan! (But I like to tease him from time-to-time because he's so adorable!) Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed it, please review!


	8. Falkner's Story

**Characters:**

Crystal Nagareboshi - age 16  
Red Sohma - age 17  
Gold Sohma - age 16  
Falkner Sohma - age 25  
Diamond (Dia) Sohma - age 14  
Riley Sohma - age 25

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or Pokémon_

**Falkner's Story**

"Wait, you... want me to leave...?" Crystal asked slowly in shock as Falkner closed his eyes.

"It's not like I'm trying to chase you out of the house, but I think it would be a good idea of you go back to your mother."

Dia was behind the sliding door, listening while holding the tray of drinks.

'He's right though... We can't allow anyone to get hurt because of us. If someone did...'

Falkner's cell phone suddenly rang.

"It's probably the office." Falkner sighed. "I'll just be a moment."

With that, Falkner left to go talk in another room, leaving Crystal to herself.

Dia decided he should come in now and handed Crystal her drink.

"Thanks." Crystal replied before staring into her cup.

Dia nodded before placing Falkner's cup on the desk.

"It's pretty quiet here." Crystal said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, it's just that the people on the 'inside' are at the inner gates, preparing for the new year's celebration. New Years is the biggest event of the year for us! Even people on the 'outside' help. Everyone has been really busy around here lately because of it." Dia explained as Crystal gave him a puzzled look.

"Inside? Outside?"

"Oh, right! Remember that tree-lined road you took to the main house? All the people who live along that are Sohmas. 'Outside' there's about one hundred people. 'Inside' there are about fifty."

Crystal stared at him in awe. She never knew the Sohmas were such a big family like they lived in their own little world.

"People who live 'inside' are people like us, and people who know the secret. Falkner-niisan and Red-niisan used to live on the 'inside' too. But Gold-niisan lived 'outside'. When you grow up, you can have a house to live on the 'outside' if you want, like Falkner-niisan." Dia said as his smile slightly faded to a sad one.

"Falkner-niisan already told you this but very few people know about our 'condition'. That's why... there are consequences when people on the 'outside' find out."

Crystal noticed Dia looked rather sad and nervous when he said this and guessed that he was keeping quiet about something.

Falkner came back and sighed.

"Is there something wrong?" Crystal asked.

"It was about those people who attacked the school again. Police are keeping quiet about it from the public, but it won't be long until others catch on to what is happening. They called me in to file a report, so I'll just be brief." Falkner said sitting down in the chair again and took a quick sip of his drink.

"Anyways, about what I was saying before... I don't think I made it quite clear of the gravity of our condition. It's not fun and games when our family continues to be possessed by vengeful spirits. For example, people would view us as monsters, freaks, weirdos, something that doesn't belong in this world. If scientists were to find out about what we are, well... that would prove to be very troublesome."

"This curse binds us, Crys. We cannot escape it, nor can we help it. I suggest that before you regret getting in involved with the Sohma, **_get out_**. I have a feeling that Cyrus is trying to use you." Falkner said as Crystal's eyes widened in disbelief.

"The best thing for you to do is that you might have to leave. But there really is no where for you to go, so I suggest avoid getting more involved with more of the other Sohmas. If those people see you hanging around with more of us, they'll put you down as a definite target to get information."

Falkner's phone rang again and he quickly answered it.

"Yes... alright... understood." Falkner hung up and looked over at Crystal.

"Sorry, but that was the office again. I have to go. It will only be for a little while, so wait here for me."

Falkner excused himself for a little while and left the room again.

Crystal looked down at her hands as thoughts swirled through her head, confusing her.

'I never knew the curse was that terrible... Could there be more to it than just transforming? ... And using me? For what? I don't understand...'

'But he thinks that the best thing is to leave... But I...'

"Hey, about Falkner-niisan." Dia said, interrupting Crystal's thoughts. "... He's almost blind in his right eye."

Crystal gave Dia a puzzled look as he stood at the sliding door's entrance.

"That's why his hair always covers that part of his face. But that's not the point. A few years ago, Falkner-niisan had a girlfriend. Her name was Winona, they were colleagues. I'm not sure if Falkner told you that he works for the police force, but that's where he met her. She was aerial command along side him, using flying Pokemon for police work. She was a rival to him at first, but then started warming up to each other, both respecting the other's abilities."

"When she found out that Falkner-niisan was possessed by the Staraptor, she just laughed and told him she thought he already knew that she loved flying Pokemon." Dia said with a chuckle.

His smile quickly faded into a serious expression.

"When he asked Cyrus for permission to marry her... Cyrus got mad. He was enraged and wouldn't allow their marriage. And he hurt Falkner-niisan's eye." Dia closed his eyes. "Then Winona-san started blaming herself for the incident. She kept agonizing saying it was her fault that Falkner-niisan's eye got hurt. She eventually fell heartsick and she was slowly destroying herself. Falkner-niisan couldn't let her do that to herself and allowed niisan-sensei (Riley) to erase her memories of them being together. Winona-san left. Falkner-niisan cried... but, he didn't blame Cyrus. He didn't blame him..."

"Why...?" Crystal asked in utter shock at what Dia had just told her, realizing Falkner had gone through so much heart break.

"Because that... is part of the curse." Dia replied slowly. "That's why... I don't know what Cyrus is thinking, but I understand a little of how Falkner-niisan feels. Falkner-niisan doesn't want you to get hurt like Winona-san did. He doesn't want anyone to suffer unnecessarily because of us anymore."

Crystal's shoulders drooped as she felt herself start to shake with emotion.

"Eh? W-What's the matter? Did I make you cry?" Dia cried waving his arms wildly as Crystal shook her head.

"No... That's not it. Falkner... he's so kind... I never knew... he was so kind..." Crystal said calmly while her bangs covered her eyes.

Little did she know that Falkner was listening from behind the door. He had come back because he had forgotten something.

'... He was worried about me. He's such a kind person... But I think he might need kindness most of all. Even though he was hurt so bad, he can still smile.'

Crystal looked up at Dia with a grateful smile.

"Even if I'm being used for some mysterious purpose... it gave me the life I have now, with Red and Gold. It may not be the perfect home, but it's still a great home. So I wanted to say thank you to Falkner."

'How can I regret getting involved with the Sohmas when I've gotten to be good friends with them. They've shown me different things from different perspectives that I myself would have never seen. I don't regret any of that.'

Dia smiled, seeing how grateful Crystal was to them.

"Falkner-niisan, you can come in now." Dia said as Falkner fell down anime-style outside the door, thinking no one knew he was out there.

Crystal sweatdropped when she heard him fall and giggled when he entered with an embarrassed look on his face.

Falkner smiled sheepishly. "We didn't invite you into our house intending to hurt you, so I apologize."

Crystal shook her head. "Don't apologize. Thanks for worrying about me, but I'll be fine. Though, I would still like to meet the others..."

Falkner sighed. "It's inevitable I guess... They'll show up whether I like it or not. Before I forget, here. Riley told me to give this to you."

Falkner reached into his pocket and placed the camera that Riley had used at the festival into Crystal's hands.

"Oh, this..." Crystal said sheepishly remembering how Riley had conned Red and Gold into taking an embarrassing photo.

She also remembered how Dia refused to let Gold tell which Zodiac Pokemon he was. She glanced back at him, hoping to figure out which one he was.

"Crys." Falkner said as Crystal looked up at him. "Would you like to take a little walk with me?"

"Huh? I thought you needed to go down to the police station to file that report." Crystal said as Falkner shrugged.

"They can just put the report on hold for now." Falkner said as Crystal sweatdropped.

'Who knew Falkner had a irresponsible side...'

"Would you like to come along, Dia-kun?" Falkner asked as Dia shook his head.

"No thanks. I'll only slow you down." Dia said opening a bag of chips and popped a couple into his mouth.

Falkner chuckled. "I guess you're right."

Crystal sweatdropped before following Falkner out the door.

Falkner led Crystal down a different stone path that Dia had led her down, which headed towards a garden area.

_"He's almost blind in his right eye."_

_"He hurt Falkner-niisan's eye."_

_"Cyrus is trying to use you."_

_"Cyrus-san's word is law."_

_"I can't go against Cyrus' decision."_

'It seems that this Cyrus person weighs pretty heavily in everyone's hearts... But...' Crystal glanced up at Falkner, who was staring straight ahead.

'Why does he not blame him if he's caused him so much pain?'

_"That is part of the curse."_

A Murkrow cawed overhead, startling Crystal a little. She looked up and was surprised to see a man with spiky light blue hair glaring at her from the window of a darkened room with cold blue eyes.

Crystal felt a chill run down her spine and quickly looked away before hurrying to catch up with Falkner.

After Crystal caught up to Falkner the man slunk away into the darkness, disappearing into the darkness.

"What's the matter?" Falkner said noticing the uneasy look on Crystal's face.

"Eh? Oh, it's nothing... It's just, I thought I saw someone glaring at me from that house over there." Crystal said pointing towards the small house where she had seen the man glaring at her.

Falkner widened his eyes briefly before narrowing them.

"Let's hurry along." Falkner said walking faster down the path, causing Crystal to have to jog to keep up with him.

'Who was that? And why was he glaring at me like that?' Crystal said to herself as the image of the man's cold blue eyes flashed in her mind.

Falkner kept his gaze focused on what was in front of him. 'It's too early to tell her the rest. I'm sorry, Crys.'

Crystal let out a surprised gasp, causing Falkner to glance up. He realized that they had arrived at the Main house's Japanese garden.

A small waterfall was flowing down into a river that ran under a small bridge that stretched across the river.

The river flowed into a small pond with a cherry blossom tree that was right beside the pond. There were many plants outlining the path that wove through the garden and beautiful display of flowers were scattered in different areas of the garden.

"Wow! This place is amazing!" Crystal said in awe while looking at the view.

Falkner watched her from afar as his mind wandered to a time when he had taken Winona to this very garden a few years ago.

_"Falkner-san, this place is so beautiful!"_

A chilly breeze swept through Falkner's dark hair as feelings he had blocked out for years started to surface once more.

"Falkner?"

Falkner immediately snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Crystal who wore a look of concern on her face.

"I was just recalling the last time I came to this garden." Falkner said looking to the side.

Crystal's expression softened. "Was it with Winona?"

Falkner looked up at her in shock. "How did you-?"

"Diamond told me about it... I never knew you went through so much..." Crystal said with a sad smile.

Falkner reached over and patted her on the head. "Don't worry about it. That was a long time ago. Life goes on and no one should dread on the past forever."

Crystal flinched at his last statement before nodding slightly.

**"Golbat!"**

Crystal and Falkner looked up and was shocked to see dozens of Golbats flying above them.

"What is this?" Falkner demanded.

"Well, well, if it isn't Falkner-kun."

Falkner looked up to see a slim man with dark hair and wore a ninja outfit with a long orange scarf.

"K-Koga?" Falkner said in shock as the man grinned evilly.

"Ah, so you remember me." Koga said as Falkner narrowed his eyes.

"How could I forget the clan of ninja thieves who have evaded the police force for generations?" Falkner said taking out a whistle of some sort.

He quickly blew into it, creating a loud yet high pitched sound seemingly being carried by the wind.

"Hoot hoot!"

Falkner's Hoothoot suddenly appeared and was flying towards them with a determined look on its face.

"Hoothoot, use Confusion!" Falkner ordered as Hoothoot's eyes started glowing.

Blue aura surrounded all of the Golbats, applying pressure to their bodies, causing them to writhe in pain.

"Now use Hypnosis!" Falkner commanded as Hoothoot released a wave from its body, causing all of the Golbats to fall to the ground fast asleep.

"Don't think you've won. Arbok, use Poison Sting!" Koga commanded as he released Arbok from its ball.

"Chaboka!" Arbok hissed as it released hundreds of purple needles from its mouth, hitting Hoothoot head on.

"Hoothoot!" Falkner cried as Arbok wove its body around Hoothoot using Wrap on it.

"Hoo hoo...!" Hoothoot chirped weakly.

Falkner ran towards them but was swept aside by Arbok's tail, sending him flying into one of the statues in the garden.

"Falkner!" Crystal cried as she hurried to Falkner's side.

"Finish that pathetic bird off with Thunder Fang!" Koga commanded while folding his arms.

Arbok's fangs started pulsing with electrical power before lowering its head towards Hoothoot.

Falkner tried to move, but winced in pain and clutched his chest. "No... Hoothoot..."

Seeing its master in pain, Hoothoot had a newfound determination and its body was suddenly engulfed in a bright light.

Arbok stopped its attack as it stared in awe at the small owl.

Both Crystal and Falkner watched in awe as Hoothoot's shape changed while Koga watched expressionless.

Once the light had faded, a large owl with bushy feathered horns and triangle patterns on its chest was in Hoothoot's place.

"Noctowl!" Falkner cried in shock.

"Amazing..." Crystal muttered.

Noctowl was released from Arbok's grip and used Zen Headbutt on it, causing Arbok crashing to the ground.

"Great job, Noctowl! Now finish it off with Air Slash!" Falkner commanded as Noctowl flapped its wings, creating a ball of wind before sending it hurtling towards Arbok.

The ball of air exploded into waves of sharp winds when it made contact with Arbok, knocking it out instantly.

Koga sighed as he returned Arbok to its ball before glancing over at Falkner. "Don't think this is over."

He suddenly reached towards his belt and threw several shuriken at Falkner.

Falkner quickly got out a boomerang of some sort and used it to block Koga's shuriken.

Koga then lunged towards Falkner with another shuriken, hitting Falkner's boomerang with such force that it actually caused him to stumble a bit.

Sweat beaded Falkner's forehead as he struggled to fend Koga's attacks off.

With all the force he could muster, Falkner pushed his boomerang towards Koga, causing him to let off a little.

Seeing his chance, Falkner swung his boomerang at Koga nearly knocking him off his feet if not for him jumping out of the way onto a tree branch.

"Well, Falkner-kun you certainly have gotten stronger. But if you can't surpass Wayne, you'll never defeat me!" Koga said with an evil grin.

Falkner's expression turned dangerous as he threw his boomerang at him.

Koga disappeared in a flash of movement before the boomerang hit, only hitting air.

"We'll meet again, Falkner-kun!" Koga's voice echoed through the garden.

Falkner clenched his fists into tight balls before heaving a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"Are you going to be okay?" Crystal asked coming up to him.

Falkner was silent for a moment before heaving a sigh. "Yeah..."

He suddenly snapped out of his daze when Crystal gave him a worried look.

Crystal's eyes suddenly widened. "Falkner, look out-!"

Falkner had forgotten about his boomerang and it came back at him and hit him right in the back of the head.

Falkner fell to the ground with a loud thud, unconscious.

"Falkner! Falkner!" Crystal cried trying to prod the knocked out Falkner awake as Noctowl hovered over them with a sweatdrop, knowing it was a stupid mistake to have forgotten about his own weapon that he had thrown.

"Falkner!"

_"Falkner-san!"_

_(Flashback)_

_'When we first met, it wasn't smooth. It was like clashing storms.'_

_"Excuse me. Pleased to meet you. I'm Winona Nagi. I'm part of the aerial force from Hoenn. I transferred here because they said that I could learn a few things from here." a lavender haired woman said bowing politely._

_Falkner glanced at her before continuing writing a report on aerial command's progress. _

_"Hm. Is that so?" Falkner said with a bored tone._

_Winona__ twitched in annoyance at Falkner's lack of interest._

_Falkner sighed as he closed the notebook he was currently writing in. "Look, just try not to get in the way of how we do things here."_

_"Are you saying that my help is unnecessary?" Winona asked narrowing her eyes while walking over to face Falkner._

_"I didn't say-"_

_Winona__ put her hands on her hips while looking away. "You didn't say it, but you were thinking it, weren't you?"_

_"Look, I just think that-"_

_"You don't need a woman's help in your little force?"_

_"Could you just let me finish-"_

_"Let me tell you something, Sohma. I was the ace of the aerial command. You should be absolutely grateful that my superior sent me here!"_

_A mad mark appeared over Falkner's head as he was getting quite annoyed that this woman was not allowing him to speak._

_"Fine! Here! This will be your first assignment!" Falkner said irritably while grabbing a piece of paper off his desk and handing it to Winona._

_Winona__ grinned in triumph before swiping the paper out of his hand and walked out of the office._

_Falkner sat down and rubbed his temples. "This is going to be an interesting year…"_

_'As the days went on, I found out that she was an amazing user of Flying Pokemon. I had no idea how talented she could be._

_We worked together on several different missions and we were able to get to know each other better._

_People say that being with another person can make you feel so much more alive. I realized then what those people meant._

_When I was with her, I felt like I could be more like myself. When in the Main House, I had to keep a lid on my emotions._

_I don't know when it happened, but I found myself wanting to be near her… Wanting to hear her sweet, soft voice._

_While being imprisoned inside the dark cage of the inner family, I had completely lost sight of myself and of my emotions._

_But with her, I was able to break down that wall, for her. It's like I was in a different world when I was with her._

_Every time she smiled, it gave me a warm feeling in my chest. Like nothing I've ever felt before._

_It was inevitable that I would fall in love with her. _

_When I confessed my feelings to her, I was utterly surprised to find that she felt the same way._

_It was like the beginning of a dream when I placed my lips on hers._

_But it was also inevitable… that she would find out.'_

_A mini explosion erupted as a small Staraptor was lying on the floor with a look of anxiety on its face._

_Winona __stared at the Staraptor for a few moments before letting out a cry of surprise._

_A few minutes later, Falkner had transformed back and was now fully dressed while sitting at the small table with Winona sitting next to him._

_She squeezed her hands in her lap as she looked over at Falkner sadly._

_"It all makes sense to me now. I was wondering why you would never hold me. I was beginning to think you really didn't love me." Winona said with a sad smile as Falkner's eyebrows curved downwards while remaining silent._

_"You didn't want anyone to know your secret. You must have been scared. That's why you act so distant towards others…" Winona said recalling how he had acted when they first met as tears welled up in her eyes._

_She gently laid her head on Falkner's. "But… there's no need to be scared anymore. Don't push me away. I'm glad I met you, Falkner-san…"_

_"I'm happy to have… I'm happy to have fallen in love with you, Falkner-san," Winona said placing her hands on his shoulders. "I want to be by your side."_

_Tears dripped down onto Falkner's hands, Falkner's tears._

_'I started crying. It was a long time since I had cried last, but at the same time, I felt relieved, like I had been saved from drowning within the depths of the inner family. The wall of ice that I had put up, had slowly melted away by this person. My tears wouldn't stop._

_Everything was like a wonderful dream…_

_But then… the dream had to come to an end.'_

_Cyrus took hold of a nearby glass vase and slammed it against the side of Falkner's face, causing blood to splatter across the floor._

_"You think I would allow you to **marry **him? You're useless to him, you can't even break the curse!" Cyrus said harshly while shaking with rage._

_"Cyrus, stop!" Riley cried grabbing Cyrus' arm, trying to hold him back. "Winona, help Falkner!"_

_Falkner clutched his right eye in sheer agony as Winona watched in horror._

_"Allowing you to marry him would be unsuitable, considering you can't do anything to help him, even in his time of need at this very moment! His eye is hurt because you are so worthless!"_

_"It's my fault..." Winona mumbled with a horrified expression as Falkner looked down at his blood covered hand. "It's all my fault..."_

_With that, Winona put her hands over her face and sobbed._

_'After that... She had broke beyond repair. No matter what I sad or did, she would just break down and cry. I couldn't even blame Cyrus. It was the curse. The curse had bound me so that I could never be 'normal'. She fell heartsick and there was nothing I could do to help her. I felt utterly useless.'_

_"Why not just have Riley suppress her memories?" Cyrus asked after Riley had patched up Falkner's eye. "What's hurting her right now is her memories of you. Her love for you, that are making her suffer. Just put an end to her suffering."_

_Cyrus grabbed Falkner's shirt collar and brought him up to eye level. "It would have been better if you two had never met. Think of it this way, letting her go will be your final act of love."_

_Cyrus then released him before walking out of the room, leaving Riley and Falkner alone._

_As Riley turned to leave, Falkner grabbed his sleeve._

_Riley looked down at him, seeing tears already stinging Falkner's eyes._

_Falkner looked down, his shoulders shaking slightly. "I want you to end it..."_

_Gen nodded before leading Falkner to the room where Winona was._

_Winona was sitting in the middle of the room sobbing._

_Falkner confronted her and gently got down on his knees in front of her._

_He gently took her hands away from her face and brought his face close to hers._

_"I love you and I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." Falkner whispered in her ear before standing up as Riley walked in front of her._

_Riley knelt down and looked into her eyes. "This won't hurt at all."_

_He gently placed his hand over Winona's eyes as Falkner watched from the back of the room._

_"Everything will be all right now, Winona." Falkner muttered to himself. "I'll always remember the memories we shared together..."_

_"Falkner...san..." Winona called weakly._

_Falkner glanced up as he saw her reaching towards him with a weak arm._

_"Falkner-san," Winona mumbled as Falkner widened his eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you... I'm so sorry..."_

_Falkner's expression trembled as a single tear streaked down his face._

_Riley's hand started glowing and in a flash, he had successfully suppressed Winona's memories she had shared with Falkner._

_Winona fell to the floor, unconscious with tear stains on her face._

_Falkner collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face._

_"Don't apologize... It wasn't your fault... It was my fault that I got you so deeply involved..."_

_'Still... She thought of me till the very end. She had no right to suffer like that.'_

_Falkner looked up weakly as a couple of the maids came in and helped her out of the room. "Thank you, Winona... It's all right now... There's nothing there to hurt you anymore."_

_'It doesn't matter what happens to me... Just let her find someone who can truly make her happy,' Falkner said silently while standing alone in the shadows. '... Even if I die within shadows, I will always remember the dream we had together...'_

_"Falkner-san..."_

_"Falkner!"_

Falkner snapped his eyes open, finding himself back in Riley's office with Crystal peering down at him.

"Ah! You're finally awake!" Crystal said in relief.

Falkner slowly sat up and felt a throbbing pain on the back of his head. "My head..."

"That's from your own boomerang, you dolt." Riley said sitting in his chair backwards as a mad mark appeared over Falkner's head.

"It's not serious injury, but don't push yourself too much." Dia said as he handed him a cup of tea. "Here, something warm to drink."

Falkner nodded a thanks before taking a sip.

'That dream... was so vivid. It was like I relived the whole thing. Why did I have it now?'

"Hoo!" Noctowl flew over and perched on its master's shoulder. "Hoo, hoo?"

Falkner smiled before petting the top of Noctowl's head. "I'll be all right, thanks for worrying about me."

"It's getting pretty late, don't you think you should get going?" Riley asked glancing at the clock.

Falkner nodded. "Yeah, and if we're late for dinner, those two might lose it with their stomachs empty."

"You're sure you don't need any help?" Dia asked as Falkner slowly got up from the bed.

"Thank you two for allowing me to come." Crystal said bowing as Riley waved and Dia smiled widely.

"Sure! Come by again some time!" Dia said while waving from the doorway as Falkner and Crystal walked down the path towards the front gate.

"Thanks for today, Falkner." Crystal said as they went through the front gate.

"Don't mention it." Falkner said. "But thank you too."

Crystal looked up at him puzzled. "For what?"

"For staying." Falkner said with a small smile before walking in front of her.

Crystal looked at him even more puzzled, not understanding him at all since he was the one who told her she might need to leave, but shrugged it off.

"We're home! Sorry I'm late..." Crystal paused.

When Crystal and Falkner returned, they found Gold and Red asleep under the kotatsu at the table with the tv still playing.

"Well, this is certainly different. I guess that's the power of the kotatsu for you (a table with a heater installed underneath)." Falkner said as he shed his coat off and hung it up. "It'd be bad if we wake them up so let's leave them be for a while."

"Good idea." Crystal said seeing the peacefulness settled on Gold and Red's faces, which isn't normally seen.

Falkner walked into his room and found several calls from the office on his cellphone.

"Guess they'll let me have it tomorrow." Falkner sighed as he reached into his desk and pulled out a picture frame.

The picture was Winona with a brilliant smile on her face, bringing one to Falkner's face.

"I'm glad to have met you... Winona." Falkner said before putting the picture back into his desk.

**To be continued...**

* * *

Sorry this one took so long, but I've been having writers block on everything! Hope this one wasn't too cheesy but I wanted to get this part out of the way. This one turned out a little bit longer than I had expected, but oh well. Hope you enjoyed, Please Review!


	9. New Year's Festival

Hello there peoples! Thanks for the reviews so far, it's always to hear something nice after spending so long on something. :) This chapter includes lots of mangaquestshippyness and a new character you all were probably dying to see. This chapter was inspired by this fan-made story on this Japanese website. Hope you enjoy!

**Characters:**

Crystal Nagareboshi - age 16  
Red Sohma - age 17  
Gold Sohma - age 16  
Falkner Sohma - age 25  
Dia Sohma - age 14

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or Pokémon_

**New Year's Festival**

"Sheesh, you're absolutely no help."

"You're the last person I need to hear that from! Are you trying to start something?"

Crystal came into the room after hearing all the yelling to find Gold and Red glaring at each other and books scattered all over the floor, not to mention the broken sliding door.

"What happened?" Crystal said with her eye slightly twitching.

"Oh, you know, the usual," Falkner said leaning on his hand at the table with a look of annoyance on his face. "Gold and Red-kun were helping me move the book shelve downstairs but ended up dropping it sideways into the sliding door."

"It was Red's fault! His end fell first!" Gold shouted while pointing at Red who shot him a disapproving look.

"Really? Your eyes must be as weak as your arms, stupid cat." Red said.

"Either way, they ended up smashing the house again." Falkner sighed.

"I'll fix it. It's easy to repair." Crystal said as Gold and Red gave her a look of surprise. "I'll just go buy some supplies first."

"I'll go too. I'll help you carry the bags." Red offered as Gold shot him an annoyed look.

Crystal smiled and nodded a thanks as Gold let out a groan of annoyance.

At the supply store, Crystal quickly found and put the supplies she needed to fix the door into the basket that Red offered to hold for her.

"When we're done here, why don't we go to the super market?" Crystal asked turning to Red.

"What are you making?" Red asked.

"I'm making osechi." Crystal said with a smile. (osechi- a ceremonial meal for the Japanese New Year) "Tell me which one you would like."

Red's expression suddenly became concerned. "Nagareboshi-san, we're going back to the Sohma house today, including Gold."

"We always spend New Years at the Main house," Red said. "I guess it's tradition. I'm sorry we forgot to tell you."

Crystal's face showed a hint of disappointment, but quickly disappeared. "I see..."

Red noticed this and looked at her in concern.

Laughing was heard from behind and Crystal looked over to see two little girls running towards Red, not looking where they were going.

"Red, watch out!" Crystal cried.

Red whirled around, but it was too late, one of the little girls ran into him, causing him to transform in a puff of smoke.

Crystal quickly scooped Red in Pikachu form and threw him into the bag as the little girls continued running through the store.

After Crystal paid for the supplies, she walked home carrying all of the bags.

"Sorry, Nagareboshi-san," Red said walking beside Crystal with his head down. "I was suppose to carry the groceries for you..."

Crystal sighed. "It's all right."

Red looked up at her, not feeling too reassured.

A little after Crystal and Red came home, Crystal was busily fixing the screen door while also preparing dinner for herself.

Gold watched her from the living room while leaning on his hand that was propped up on the coffee table while Red took a drink of water.

"Hey, you two. It's almost time to go," Falkner said putting his jacket on. "Don't you think you should get ready? We're going to be late."

"I don't know about the rat, but I'm not going." Gold said, shocking both Red and Falkner.

After Crystal was done with the screen door, she moved to the kitchen to get her dinner ready.

"I SAID, I'M NOT GOING BACK!" Crystal heard Gold shout from the living room.

Crystal came into the room to see Gold and Red glaring at each other once again while Falkner sighed.

"What's going on now?" Crystal asked with an exasperated expression.

"Well, Gold says he doesn't want to go back to the Main house with Red and me. Pretty childish if you ask me." Falkner said as Gold shot him a warning glare.

"You think someone who left home four months ago would go back just because it's New Years? Why should I even bother going?" Gold said in annoyance.

"Listen to yourself, you sound like a bratty little kid." Red commented as Gold shouted at him to shut up and grabbed his shirt collar.

"You attended it every year in the past. Why should this year be any different?" Falkner asked in curiosity.

Gold gave Crystal a side glance as a small blush appeared on his face. "Peh, does it really matter?"

"I heard from Diamond that the New Year's festivities are a major event for the Sohma family." Crystal said as Gold grunted.

"Yep. It's the biggest event of the year to us. The whole family comes home and celebrates. Just the greeting itself is a lot of work. And the most important part is the Chinese Zodiac banquet." Falkner explained.

"The banquet can only be attended by those possessed by the spirits of the Chinese Zodiac. The Zodiac members representing the new year and the old year dance together. This year it will be Diamond-kun and the year of the Lopunny. But nothing could compare to Red's beautiful dance four years ago."

Suddenly, three pieces of pickled radish were thrown and hit Falkner in the face, sticking to him.

"I told you to never talk about that." Red said with an annoyed look on his face, obviously the one who threw the pickled radish, causing Falkner to sweatdropp.

'A banquet just like in the old folktale.' Crystal realized.

"Yeah, so why should I go if that stupid banquet has nothing to do with me?"

Crystal looked over at Gold who had a frustrated look on his face.

"The Meowth isn't allowed to join the banquet." Gold grunted in annoyance.

"Why not?" Crystal asked.

"Well, it was decided long ago that the Meowth couldn't come. I guess that's just like the legend too." Falkner said as he ate the pickled radish that Red threw at him.

"It's not that big of a deal. I won't go home just because of some stupid banquet." Gold said looking away.

"It's probably because he doesn't want to have to deal with Whitney if he went back." Red whispered to Crystal, but loud enough so that Gold could hear.

"Shut up!" Gold shouted before laying down on his side, facing the wall.

"Anyways, if we all went back, we'll have to spend the first three days of January there. So in that time, super-serious gal would be left all alone."

Red and Crystal looked at him in surprise.

It was true, her mother was now living in a different city and would take hours to get there by bart. She was touched that Gold was thinking about her, even though he won't admit it.

"That was very optimistic of you, stupid cat." Red said with a smirk.

"Don't call me stupid!" Gold immediately shot up and grabbed Red by the shirt collar again.

"What's wrong with calling a stupid guy, stupid?" Red said with a bored expression.

Falkner sighed while running a hand through his hair. "Well, if you really aren't going to come back with us, here."

Gold glanced up as Falkner handed him a flyer.

"What's this?" Gold said looking at the flyer.

"A New Year's Festival?" Crystal asked coming over, looking at the flyer.

"Yep, try not to get into too much trouble now, Gold." Falkner said as Gold glared at him.

"Well, we're off." Falkner waved from the door with Red behind him.

"Have a good time you two!" Crystal waved.

After Red closed the door, they started walking down the side walk towards the Main house.

"Do you think it's alright to leave those two alone?" Red asked.

"Please, I doubt Gold could get away with anything with Crystal there." Falkner asked as Red smiled sheepishly while sweatdropping, knowing that he was right.

(Back with Gold and Crystal)

Gold looked at the flyer while waiting outside for Crystal to change. He had a black collared tank top on with gray sweatpants and had his goggles around his neck.

Though it was winter, Gold didn't mind the cold too much and felt more comfortable with a tank top on than being bundled in a giant coat and a scarf.

'I guess this is better than going back to that accursed house.' Gold said to himself as an image of a man walking away and a woman slapping a small boy suddenly flashed through his mind.

Gold's eyes widened in horror before gripping his head in pain.

'No... Stop it!' Gold cried in his head.

After a few minutes, Gold was able to calm himself down as he lowered his hands to his side.

He was breathing heavily as if seeing a ghost before letting out a sigh.

The moment of silence was interrupted when he heard the door behind him open.

"Took you long enough-" Gold's eyes widened as Crystal came out in her light blue kimono that was decorated with shadows of autumn leaves.

Gold couldn't help but stare at Crystal's stunning appearance as the porch light shone radiantly on her kimono.

A small blush appeared on Gold's face before quickly looking away.

Crystal was surprised by his reaction before a look of annoyance appeared on her face.

"What's wrong? You think it doesn't look good on me?" Crystal said looking away causing Gold to sweatdrop. "Fine, make fun if you want."

"N-No, i-it's not that! I-It l-looks really good on you." Gold stammered waving his hands in front of him frantically as his blush intensified.

A small blush appeared on Crystal's face as she looked down at her feet. "Oh, um... thanks."

The two stood in silence for a while, both seemingly embarrassed about one another.

Breaking the awkward silence, Gold reached out and grabbed Crystal's hand and pulled her out the door.

"Hurry up, or we'll be late." Gold said with a sheepish grin with a hint of blush on his face while he pulled her down the road towards the festival.

Crystal had a slightly stunned look on her face before glancing down at Gold loosely holding her hand, causing a small smile to form on her face.

When they arrived, paper lanterns were hung up, lighting up the whole area. There were food stands game stands with lots of prizes. There were also a lot of people, causing Gold and Crystal to walk along the side so there wasn't as high of a chance of Gold transforming.

Crystal took the time to look around at the sights of all the stands and paper lanterns. The atmosphere seemed to hold a happy feeling as well as a relaxed one.

"So, what do you want to do first?" Gold asked putting his arms behind his head.

"Um..." Crystal looked around, not sure what they should do first.

Gold pointed to the side. "What about that?"

Crystal looked over to see a ring toss stand. There were several plushies that were sitting on the shelf. One row had all the starters from Kanto, another row that had the Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh starters. One in particular caught Crystal's eye.

Gold grinned. "Bet I can beat you."

"Please, how childish can you get?" Crystal said looking away as Kenta' grin broadened.

"Heh, are you afraid of losing against me, super-serious gal?" Gold prodded poking her slightly on the cheek, using the nickname he gave her.

Crystal slapped his hand away before glaring at him. "Fine, but you're paying."

The man in charge of the game gave Gold and Crystal several rings and told them that the one in the middle was worth 100 points.

"Heh, seems easy enough." Gold said giving a cocky grin causing Crystal to frown in frustration.

'How can he be so laid back like that?' Crystal wondered before tossing one of her rings at the targets.

It bounced off one of the 50 point targets before falling to the floor, much to Crystal's disappointment.

Gold smirked before throwing his ring, which landed around the 70 point target.

Crystal sweatdropped as Gold lifted his eyebrows in a suggestive manner at her, causing her to flush in frustration.

She tried to get one of the 50 point targets, but all of her efforts lead to the rings ending up on the floor.

Crystal sighed in exasperation after using up all of her rings and wasn't able to get one around any of the targets.

Gold laughed at her expression. "Looks like I win and I didn't even have to use all of my rings."

Crystal shot him a glare as he threw the rest of his rings at the targets in one toss, not really aiming for any targets but happened to get one on the 50 point target and another on the 100 point target, giving Gold a grand total of 220 points and Crystal with 0.

"We have a winner!" the man running the booth announced as everyone around applauded.

Gold put his hands on his hips with a smile of triumph on his face as Crystal dropped her head in defeat.

"Which one would you like?" the man asked as Gold pondered at which prize to get.

"That one." Gold said pointing to a Chikorita plushie.

"Here you go!" the man said as he handed Gold the plushie.

Gold took the prize and turned towards Crystal with a grin. "Told you I'd win."

He placed the plushie on her head, causing her to look up.

"Huh?"

"Personally, I prefer Cyndaquils to Chikoritas. So I guess you can have it." Gold said as Crystal took the Chikorita doll of her head and looked up at Gold.

"Aw, what a cute couple." a couple of people said passing by, causing Crystal to blush.

"N-No! He's not-" Crystal said as Gold started laughing. "What's so funny?"

Gold poked her on the forehead. "You always get so defensive when someone comments about that. You're so serious."

Crystal blushed while placing a hand over her forehead where Gold had poked her as she looked up at Gold with a surprised expression.

Gold gave her a well-humored grin before putting his arms behind his head again and walked off.

"Let's see what else I can beat you at." Gold smirked as Crystal stood speechless before glancing down at the plush in her arms.

"Oi! Are you coming, or do I have to leave you behind?" Gold called as Crystal snapped out of her thoughts and jogged to catch up with him.

"Here."

When Crystal came up to Gold, he readily handed her a caramel apple on a stick.

"T-Thanks..." Crystal stammered as she slowly took the apple from him.

Gold gave her a toothy grin before walking away, gesturing for her to follow.

Crystal looked up at Gold, seeing a relaxed expression on his face as they walked past several stalls.

'I didn't expect this... Gold is actually being really... sweet.' Crystal said to herself, blushing slightly while clutching the Chikorita doll in her arms tighter.

While Crystal was lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize that she was separated from Gold.

"Ah! Gold!" Crystal called but didn't see him anywhere through the sea of people.

Crystal sighed as she decided to just wait instead of tracking down Gold in the large crowd.

'Where could that bonehead have walked off to? But I guess it was partly my fault since I wasn't paying attention.' Crystal thought as she looked up a the paper lanterns.

'But, I am curious to know why he's doing so much for me. He even skipped out on spending time with his family at the Main house because he knew that I was going to be alone...'

"Hey, cutie!"

Crystal snapped out of her thoughts and looked over to see two men. One had a turquoise colored, bowl-like hair cut with a baggy white vest with a black shirt underneath and white pants. The other had a blue bandanna with a skull-like pattern and had a blue vest with a black and white shirt underneath and wore baggy blue pants.

"Watcha doing there standing all alone? Why don't you come along with us?" the bandanna wearing man asked with a suspicious grin on his face.

"Ah, that's okay." Crystal said as she slowly started backing away.

"Aw, don't be like that! We'll have lots of fun!" the man with the turquoise hair said grabbing her wrist with a playful smile.

"H-Hey! Let go!" Crystal cried as she kicked him in the leg, causing him to howl in pain.

"Why you little-!"

!SLASH!

"WAHHH!" the turquoise haired man cried clutching his face.

"H-Hey! What's wrong?" the bandana wearing man said.

"Back off."

Crystal looked up and was both shocked and relieved to see Gold with Aitaro climbing up his back and onto his shoulder.

"If the lady doesn't want to have anything to do with you lugs, leave her be." Gold said narrowing his eyes.

"Oo ah! Oo ah!" Aitaro cried with frown.

"What the hell?" the man with the turquoise hair cried.

"Why don't you mind your own business, you punk!" the bandanna wearing man shouted as he lunged towards Gold.

Gold dodged the man's attack before getting down on the ground and swept the man off his feet, sending him crashing to the ground.

"This here gal is my friend, so it makes it my business." Gold said as the turquoise haired man rushed at him, winding up to punch.

Gold merely let out a yawn as he blocked the man's attack and struck him right in the ribs with his elbow.

"Aitaro, finish em' off with Swift!" Gold commanded as Aitaro jumped off his shoulder before releasing a barrage of stars from a swing of its tail.

Both of the men let out a shout before being sent crashing to the ground in a heap.

"Are you okay?" Gold asked urgently.

"Y-Yeah-"

"Good, let's go!" Gold said quickly pulling Crystal down a stone path and away from the two men.

"Where does this path even lead to?" Crystal called while Gold continued pulling her.

"Doesn't matter! Keep running!" Gold shouted back as the two turned a corner.

Gold could faintly hear the two men yelling, but were getting farther and farther away.

When they turned a corner they found themselves at a shrine of some sort. They finally came to a stop and sat down on the steps leading up to the shrine to catch their breaths.

"You always seem to attract trouble, don't you, super-serious gal?" Gold smirked. "First that guy comes to your house, threatening you and now this. Heh, do I always have to save you?"

Crystal remained silent as she laid her chin on the Chikorita plushie, looking towards the horizon that was lit with the stars in the sky.

Gold realized she wasn't giving him a retorted answer and looked at her worriedly. "H-Hey, I didn't really mean anything by that-"

"It's nothing..." Crystal said hugging her Chikorita doll.

Gold frowned, knowing that there was something else bothering her than just her encounter earlier.

Gold grunted in annoyance. "There you go again."

Crystal looked up at him puzzled as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand that was propped up on his knee.

"Don't keep things bottled up inside so that you're the only one that's suffering. If something's bothering you, just say it. I don't mind." Gold said closing his eyes.

Crystal looked down at her lap. "This is the first year that I won't be spending New Year's with my mom..."

Gold opened his eyes again to see tears forming at the corner of her eyes.

They sat in another awkward silence as Gold glanced over at Crystal, seeing how lonely she must be.

Without thinking, Gold reached over and pulled Crystal to him, having her lean on his shoulder but also so that he won't transform.

"It's okay. You won't have to spend New Year's alone... You won't have to cry alone." Gold said, his bangs covering his eyes.

A tear slipped down her face as she closed her eyes, feeling fortunate to have Gold by her side at this moment instead of being alone.

"Thank you... For everything today, Gold." Crystal said wholeheartedly as a small smile appeared on Gold's face.

"Your welcome."

After a moment of just enjoying the other's company, they suddenly broke apart when fire works were suddenly shot high into the night sky.

Crystal looked at the light show going in the sky in awe with a big smile on her face as Gold watched with a look of contentment on his face.

* * *

"Welcome back!"

"Good to see you, Falkner-san."

Several people greeted Falkner as he walked down the hallway of the main house while giving a curt wave and nod.

"You're late."

Falkner looked over to see a tall young man with spiky, orange, auburn hair and green eyes. He was wearing a dark green coat and wore a stoic expression. He also had a strong-looking Scyther sitting next to him.

"You're the last one to arrive." the boy said.

"Hey Green, long time no see." Falkner smiled.

"... Where are Gold and Red?" Green asked.

"Well, Gold decided not to come this year. But Red is right..." Falkner looked behind him, only to find out that Red was no where to be seen. "... behind me. He was there a second ago."

"... I can imagine Whitney is not going to be too happy about this... And Cyrus, quietly steaming." Green said with a bored look on his face as Falkner sweatdropped.

Green then sighed. "... I was hoping to get in a battle with Red one last time this year. Guess I'll just have to wait next year. I'm also curious to see how much better Gold got after his training on Mt. Silver."

"Just don't destroy the house." Falkner said.

"But I understand why they'd want to skip out," Green said narrowing his eyes. "Even I have things I can't stand here..."

Falkner's expression softened as he shook his head. "No, I don't think it's because they're trying to run away this time."

"What do you mean?" Green asked while lifting an eyebrow when suddenly Dia came rushing up to them in his dance costume.

"Falkner-niisan! Green-niisan!" Dia said with a smile, quickly coming to a stop and causing his Munchlax to trip and fall. "You finally made it! The banquet is starting!"

"Alright, we're coming. I'm looking forward to your dance." Falkner said with a smile.

"... But before that, Cyrus. I wonder how he'll take the news." Green said without emotion.

Falkner sighed. "I'll go tell him. You two go on ahead."

Green nodded before following Dia down the hall towards the banquet room.

"How do you think Cyrus will take the news? This is the first time the Pikachu will be skipping the banquet." Dia said worriedly.

Green shrugged. "If it's Red, he probably knows what he's doing."

Falkner turned a corner and entered a dimly lit room with a single window.

Cyrus was standing by the window with his arms behind his back.

There was also a Honchkrow perched on the window, looking threateningly at Falkner.

"Good evening." Fakner greeted with a small bow. "I came here to tell you that Gold and Red won't be coming this year."

"Not coming?" Cyrus said turning towards Falkner while narrowing his eyes.

"Gold decided to skip this year and Red seemed to have slipped away when I wasn't looking." Falkner said.

"... Those two really are fools." Cyrus said darkly.

"Honch! " the Honchkrow screeched.

* * *

"Welcome home!"

Gold and Crystal stared blankly at Red, who was sitting at the living room table with Poli holding a bowl of oranges.

"What the hell are you doing here? Aren't you suppose to be at the New Year's Banquet?" Gold shouted as Red stuffed one of the oranges in his mouth to stop him from shouting.

"I just didn't like the idea of leaving the two of you alone." Red said, causing Crystal to blush.

Gold pulled the orange out of his mouth and glared over at Red, debating whether to throw the orange at him or not.

Red came over to Crystal and handed her an orange. "Happy New Year, Nagareboshi-san."

Crystal smiled before taking the orange. "Happy New year."

"But is it really okay for you just ditch like that?"

Red chuckled sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head, causing Crystal to sweatdrop.

"It's fine. We'll go back and wish them a happy new year before the third of January." Red smiled.

'Maybe...' Gold and Red both thought.

"Thanks you two." Crystal smiled. "I'd hug you, but you'd transform."

A mischievous grin appeared on Gold's face as he suddenly appeared behind Crystal, causing her to jump. "I don't care if I transform."

"Pervert!" Crystal shouted before slapping him.

"OW!" Gold cried while clutching his face in pain. "Sheesh, do you always have to resort to violence?"

Crystal fumed while blushing as Red laughed.

'They're probably in the middle of the banquet right now. But somehow, I don't feel guilty at all.' Red said to himself.

He glanced over at Gold who was looking at Crystal with a soft expression while rubbing his face.

'He undoubtedly feels the same way.' Red said with a small smile.

Crystal went to go change in her room and when she was finished, she found Gold waiting outside, his cheek still red from her slap.

Gold looked away with a slight blush on his face. "So, uh... Did you have fun at the festival?"

Crystal was shocked for a moment before softening her expression. "I did. Thanks to you."

She walked over to him and gave him a small peck on the cheek before giving him a smile and walked downstairs.

Gold's eyes were wide with shock before as he brushed the place where she had kissed him with his fingers.

A small, humble smile appeared on Gold's lips as he put his hands in his pockets before walking downstairs with his normal grin.

'... The truth is, what I really wanted... was to spend the New Year together with her.'

"Alright, this year, I'm going to beat you damn rat!" Gold said pointing at Red.

Crystal let out an exasperated sigh as Red gave him a bored look.

"Yeah, yeah, wouldn't that be nice." Red said rolling his eyes.

Crystal couldn't help but let out a little giggle. 'I wonder what the new year holds in store?'

**To be continued...**

* * *

Happy 2010 peoples! The last bit of it seemed a bit cheesy to me, but oh well. Hmm, I may have unconsciously copied the kiss part from the part between Kenta and Marina in **_Mystery of the Kingdoms_**, one of my other stories, but it's still cute. Hope you all enjoyed, please review!


	10. The Tauros' Rage

**Characters:**

Crystal Nagareboshi- age 16  
Red Sohma - age 17  
Gold Sohma - age 16  
Falkner Sohma - age 25  
Yellow De Viridian Grove - age 16  
Marley Makkuro - age 16  
Corey Sorao - age 17  
Buck - age 16  
Jackson - age 16  
Green Sohma - age 17

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or Pokémon_

**The Tauros' Rage**

A young man with spiky hair and dark green eyes walked briskly down the road, keeping a very serious face with a Scyther walking along side of him.

As he passed by a couple of young women, they stared dreamily at him as he stopped to look at a map of the town.

"Wow, he is hot!" one of the girls said blushing as the other girl giggled.

"I wonder if he's from around here. I've never seen him before."

"Maybe he'll go out with us."

"Hey, you over there! Do you want to join us-"

The boy shot them an icy glare, stopping them in their tracks, blowing a snowstorm over them.

His Scyther also gave them a threatening look as they walked passed them down the road, causing the two girls to sweatdrop.

"Don't think you're going to be able to keep that arrogant look on your face forever! One of these days I'll wipe that smirk right off and make you say 'you're sorry!'" Gold growled from outside the grocery store.

"'I'm sorry.'" Red said in a mock tone, causing a mad mark to pulse off the side of Gold's head.

"NO! That's not what I meant! You're a real wise ass, you know that?" Gold shouted furiously while pointing at him with his Meowth ears and tail out.

"At least I'm not the noisy idiot causing a scene in front of the store." Red replied calmly with a bored look on his face while everyone stared at the two.

"Fine then, you b-! Let's take it outside!" Gold shouted rolling up one of his sleeves of his jacket.

"We're already outside, you stupid cat."

Crystal sighed as she came outside with her grocery shopping done as the two continued to exchange insults.

Red noticed her and smiled. "Thanks for doing the shopping, Nagareboshi-san."

"S-Sure..." Crystal said with her eye slightly twitching as Gold continued giving Red a death glare.

"Here, let me help you with that," Red said taking one of the many bags. "Make yourself useful, stupid cat and carry some of the bags."

"Stop calling me stupid! And why do I have to help **_you_**?" Gold shouted.

"That's the whole reason we came here. If you don't want to help, don't come." Red said rolling his eyes.

As the three of them walked home, Gold and Red continued bickering.

'It looks like nothing is going to change between these two...' Crystal sighed.

"You are really starting to get on my nerves." Red said in a dangerous tone.

"Go ahead and make me, stop!" Gold challenged, dropping his bags and put up his fists.

Red picked up a leek from one of the bags and stuck it in Gold's mouth, knowing leeks had a strong enough taste to knock him out.

Gold fell over with a sick look on his face and quickly spit out the leek that was in his mouth while gagging.

"That should keep him quiet for a while." Red sighed as Crystal shook her head.

At the corner of Red's eye, he spotted movement from behind a pole. When he looked to see what it was, nothing was there, heightening his suspicions.

* * *

"So the girl was with them?"

"Yes."

"Were there two of them?"

"Yes, though they don't seem to get along too well."

"Interesting. Alright, tomorrow, we execute the plan."

"Yes sir."

"Do not fail me like the others have."

"I will not fail. I will get the information you need."

* * *

"There's an endurance run tomorrow?" Gold said in surprise coming through the doorway of the hallway.

Crystal nodded. "Yeah, you didn't know? They put it on the announcements several days in advance."

Gold sweatdropped as Falkner dried his hair with a towel after finishing his bath. "Having to do an endurance run in such cold weather sure sounds tough. The things they do to kids these days..."

Gold looked up at the ceiling with a thoughtful look. "Hm... an endurance run... a certain distance... a certain time to beat..."

'I'm getting a bad feeling...' Red said to himself.

"In other words... it's a contest!" Gold said enthusiastically before turning towards Red. "Tomorrow, I'll clearly show who's the fastest!"

"Oh please, why do you always have to make things so difficult for me? Not that it's hard beating you; you're just being a burden." Red said leaning against his hand with his arm propped up.

"Hah! It almost sounds like you're afraid to take me on!" Gold shot back with a grin as Red sighed.

"Whatever, if it'll make you shut up." Red sighed as Gold ran out of the room, feeling pumped up about the race.

"Just try not to overdo it. Being out in the cold like that could cause you to get sick and transform. Be careful." Falkner said as Red nodded.

'Red does seemed pretty troubled whenever Gold challenges him. I wonder why those two refuse to make amends with each other.' Crystal thought as she continued writing notes down for her science class.

As Gold walked towards his room, he noticed Crystal's door slightly open ajar.

Curiosity killed the cat and Gold decided to look around.

He slowly opened the door to find everything tidy and neat.

'Big surprise.' Gold said to himself before something caught his eye.

He looked on top of her dresser and widened his eyes in shock.

On top of the dresser was a black and yellow cap with a pokeball logo on the front.

Gold gingerly picked up the cap and examined it. 'No... it couldn't be... but...'

"Hey!"

Gold quickly looked up to see Crystal standing in the doorway with a furious look on her face.

"What are you doing snooping around in my room, you pervert?" Crystal demanded.

"I was just looking! Besides, it's not like you were changing in here or anything!" Gold said waving his hands in front of him.

Crystal grabbed the back of his shirt and threw him out of her room, slamming the door behind him.

Gold rubbed the back of his head after hitting the wall and looked up at the door to Crystal's room.

'There's no way... There's no way she could be...'

Crystal sighed heavily in exasperation as she picked up the black and yellow cap off the floor and placed it back on the dresser.

She stared at the cap as a small smile appeared on her face, remembering the time when she got the cap.

_"Don't give up. You'll make it someday."_

(The Next day)

All the students were chattering before the run started, some feeling anxious and excited.

"Are you sure you'll be alright, Yellow? Your asthma." Crystal said looking at Yellow in concern.

"It'll be okay. The teachers said I could walk most of the way." Yellow said with a smile.

"I will be walking with her too. I don't see the point in running when we can get to wherever we need to just by walking." Marley said, causing Crystal and Yellow to smile sheepishly while sweatdropping.

"Are you all ready?" Red said coming over to them.

When Yellow saw him, she blushed and looked away, causing Red to sweatdrop.

'Is she still embarrassed about what happened at the Culture Festival?' Red said to himself. 'I would apologize, but I don't think she wants to talk to me...'

"How about you?" Crystal asked as Red sighed.

"I guess, since I have to be or else he'll throw a fit." Red said glancing at Gold, who was giving him another death glare.

A whistle suddenly blew as one of the teachers started ushering students over. "The girls will be the first to start! Please gather at the starting point at the school gate!"

"Good luck. I think you'll need it." Crystal said while giving Red a weak smile as he rolled his eyes, knowing Gold was still glaring at him.

A little bit into the run, Crystal was pacing herself so she was near the back of the group; she started thinking about the two boys.

'The boys should be starting about now. I hope Red and Gold don't do something stupid and overexert themselves and end up transforming... Who am I kidding; they're going to end up doing just that!'

As she came to a bridge, she spotted someone sitting on the side of the road, holding the end to a rope that was tied to a pole on the opposite side.

'What the heck is he doing?' Crystal thought, raising an eyebrow at the odd sight.

As she came closer, she saw that he had spiky auburn hair and dark green eyes. He was wearing a dark green coat, tan pants, and brown boots. He also wore a multicolored pendent. Sitting a few feet away from him was a Scyther that was apparently taking a nap.

'That boy...'

* * *

Gold and Red zoomed down the road, both neck and neck.

"Eat my dust, rat boy!" Gold shouted while running as fast as he could beside Red, who had a bored yet annoyed expression on his face.

"Shut up." Red said as the two ran down the road, leaving the rest of the students in the dust.

"What do those guys think they're doing? This isn't the hundred meter dash." Corey panted in exhaustion, who was trying to keep up with them.

"I can't even see them anymore." Buck said while gasping for air.

"That's just stupid." Jackson said, since all three of them couldn't keep up with them or catch up to them at this rate.

* * *

The boy noticed her and looked over at her with a serious expression. "What do you want?"

Crystal immediately sweatdropped. 'Not the warmest greeting I've ever gotten from someone, but...'

She stared at him. There was something about him that was familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

The boy narrowed his eyes. "You realize that staring is considered rude."

"Ah! Sorry, but haven't I seen you from somewhere?" Crystal asked, trying to remember where she's seen him before.

The boy shrugged before turning his gaze back to the road. "Probably not."

Suddenly, the picture in Prof. Oak's memory album came to mind and she realized he was the little boy in the old photo.

"Wait, you're-"

The boy perked up slightly as he glanced to the right. "They're coming."

"Huh? Who are?" Crystal asked puzzled.

Gold suddenly appeared out of no where, sprinting down the road when the boy suddenly pulled on the rope with a flick of the wrist, causing Gold to trip over it and fall flat on his face.

"Got him." the boy said as Crystal gasped.

"Ah! Gold are you all right?" Crystal called rushing over to him.

"Nagareboshi-san?" Red said in surprise while jogging over to them.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? DAMMIT! RIGHT WHEN I FINALLY PASSED RED!" Gold shouted furiously as blood dripped down his forehead.

"If I hadn't tripped you, you wouldn't have stopped." the boy said with a bored expression as Gold widened his eyes in surprise.

"G-Green?"

"Oh, by the way. Doing this was very dangerous. And if that had been anyone other than Gold, they would have been hurt pretty badly. So please don't try this at home." Green said glancing over his shoulder. (Couldn't resist XD)

"You shouldn't have tried it either! Who are you even talking to?" Gold shouted as Green looked away uninterested. "You could have killed me! Look at the blood!"

"Hey, Green. Long time no see." Red said with a smile as Green gave him a curt nod. "But shouldn't you be in school."

"... There was an unsuspecting fire that happened in the science labs. So they closed down the school for a little bit." Green said as Red sweatdropped.

"You wouldn't have had anything to do with it, did you?"

"... I may have accidentally mixed two chemicals together that weren't compatible." Green said looking away as Crystal and Gold sweatdropped.

'So he was the one who started the fire... I bet they didn't close down the school, he just got suspended...' Gold said to himself.

"You were always horrible with science." Red said as Green glared at him.

Crystal looked over to see the rest of the runners coming in the distance. "Maybe we should move to the side."

"Good idea. This is Green Sohma. He's in the same grade as I am. Green, this is Crystal Nagareboshi-san." Red introduced the both of them.

"Oh. I see. It's a pleasure to meet you." Green said unenthusiastically while bowing politely.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too." Crystal said with a sweatdrop.

Green really is the boy in the photo. Maybe I can get him to meet with Prof. Oak...'

After they moved out of the way and were now standing underneath the bridge, Gold grunted in annoyance.

"So what did you come here for? Trying to kill me by tripping me?"

"A battle," Green replied simply as Gold looked at him in surprise. "I heard you finally came back from Mt. Silver and I wanted to see how strong you've gotten at New Years. But you decided to skip, so I've come to you."

"Well you're wasting your time since I don't even have Aitaro with me. Besides, I'm in the middle of an important race right now, if you haven't noticed!" Gold said in an annoyed tone.

"It doesn't matter. Now stop wasting more of my time."

"My race with Red comes first!"

"We're here now, so let's just get this over with!"

"I'll fight you when we get home! Just not now!"

"No."

'I have a bad feeling about where this is going...' Crystal thought to herself.

"This could be bad..." Crystal looked over at Red who had somewhat of a worried look on his face. "Hey, Gold. Just do what Green wants."

"I said no and I mean no! Just go home, I'm busy!" Gold said turning and walking away from Green, whose bangs were covering his eyes.

Green suddenly came forward and slammed his head against the back of Gold's head.

Gold doubled over, clutching his head in pain as the atmosphere suddenly turned rigid.

"You make me sick... You and your pathetic girly whining..." Green spat darkly. "Enough of your accursed yapping!"

"Too late..." Red sighed while putting a hand to his head as Crystal watched with a worried expression.

"Heh, you're not a man. You're a little kitty cat whose to scared to fight!" Green said with an evil grin while giving him a thumbs down, the blacks of his eyes becoming smaller.

"Time to die!" Green cackled evilly as he put his hands on his hips in a triumphant pose.

"You punk!" Gold shouted furiously while attempting to kick him, but Green quickly dodged the attack.

"Is that the best you can do?" Green taunted.

"What's your problem? What'd I ever do to you that you have to get in the way of my victory?" Gold shouted as he missed punching Green again.

"W-What just happened...?" Crystal said with an ill expression.

"Great. He's awakened Dark Green." Red sighed as Crystal looked at him puzzled. "What do you mean by dark?"

"Well, normally Green is calm and quiet, but once he's snapped, he becomes an unstoppable juggernaut. We call him dark Green whenever he's like this." Red explained.

'Who knew someone could become a completely different person just like that...' Crystal thought with a sweatdrop.

Green turned towards Red and grabbed him by the collar. "Don't just stand there watching, Red. Because once I'm done with Gold, I'm coming after you next!"

"Why do you all have to involve me with your problems?" Red said while rolling his eyes.

"Get up, Gold!" Green shouted over his shoulder before Gold punched him in the face. (Sorry Green...)

"I've been up, where the hell were you?" Gold shot-back with a furious expression.

Scyther sighed, seeing his trainer lose it again. (Not the first time he's seen Green like this)

Green got back on his feet and wiped the blood from his mouth before giving Gold another evil grin. "You call that a punch? I barely even felt it!"

"Nagareboshi-san, you should just go on ahead. This could take a while." Red said with a bored expression.

"Um..." Crystal said as she watched as Green tried to strike Gold.

'Seems as if they have completely forgotten about the endurance run...' Crystal said to herself as Gold started fighting back.

Green wound up to punch but Gold quickly dodged before he tried to kick him, but was easily dodged.

"Come on! Is that all you got, blockhead?"

"Shut up! When you go dark, your fighting skills suck!"

As the two exchanged punches and insults, Crystal felt both worried and a little bored.

"You can always go back, Nagareboshi-san. You don't have to stay here and watch." Red said. "They're obviously not going to stop anytime soon."

Green threw off his green coat, now only in his black skin-tight shirt.

"Moron... Sissy... Hit me some more you dumb cat!" Green taunted.

Gold saw his chance and punched him, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Stop flattering yourself! Compared to Red, you move like a Slowpoke!" Gold growled.

"Peh! Then what does that make you? You still can't beat Red yourself or me for that matter!" Green smirked causing Gold to stiffen. "And I've never been able to beat Red! If you can't even beat me, what makes you think you stand a chance against Red? You even did that extra training. What a loser! You're even less that a Slowpoke... You're pathetic little Magikarp!"

Gold's temper flared, causing him to strike Green harder.

"I am seriously going to murder you!"

"He's not serious. This whole fight is just plain stupid." Red said in a bored tone.

"Is it just me, or does Gold look like he's stronger?" Crystal commented as Red nodded.

"Against dark Green maybe, but when Green isn't dark, well let's just say that Gold wouldn't be conscious right now." Red said causing Crystal to sweatdrop.

Green and Gold interlocked hands as they tried to push the other one back while glaring at each other with gritted teeth.

"Why do you always have to bring up your dark side on me?" Gold shouted pushing Green back slightly.

"Because you're an idiot!" Green shot back pushing back Gold.

Green's Scyther suddenly perked up, sensing a disturbance.

Red noticed this and narrowed his eyes, looking around on high alert. 'Someone's watching...'

"Red?" Crystal said, noticing Red's expression.

"Something's wrong." Red said.

"Kadabra!"

Red whirled around to see a Kadabra appear behind Crystal, it's eyes glowing light blue.

"Nagareboshi-san!" Red cried as Crystal's body was suddenly surrounded with blue aura while applying pressure to Crystal's body.

"AHH!" Crystal cried as she gritted her teeth in pain as Kadabra used Psychic on her.

"Scyther, Quick Attack!" Green commanded as Scyther lunged towards Kadabra with amazing speed.

Scyther hit Kadabra with its body, sending it stumbling backwards, releasing its hold on Crystal.

Crystal collapsed to the ground as Red got protectively in front of her.

"Crys, are you okay?" Gold cried as he rushed to Crystal's side.

"Y-Yeah... But where did that Kadabra come from?" Crystal said as the Kadabra levitated back onto its feet.

"Wherever it came from, it's going right back! Scyther use Double Team, then Fury Cutter!" Dark Green commanded as his Scyther created several copies of itself.

Kadabra looked around in confusion, not sure which one was the real one as the real Scyther stealthily came up behind it and attacked using Fury Cutter.

_"Kadabra, use Recover. And then use Miracle Eye."_

Kadabra's body started glowing, restoring its health before its eyes started glowing as well. Kadabra caught sight of the real Scyther among the copies and fired a Psybeam at it, catching Scyther off guard.

"Use Quick Attack to avoid it!" Green called as Scyther dodged Kadabra's attack. "Good, now use Slash!"

As Scyther dove towards Kadabra, it was suddenly stopped by Kadabra's Psychic attack.

Green narrowed his eyes, seeing that Scyther wouldn't be able to attack Kadabra close up.

As he rushed towards Scyther, a Venomoth suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Venom!" Venomoth cried as it started flapping its wings using Silver Wind, sending Green flying backwards.

"Where are all these Pokémon coming from?" Gold shouted as Green got back on his feet.

Red rushed to Green's side and nodded to him. "I'll take care of the Venomoth, you go after Kadabra."

Green nodded as he quickly ran past the Venomoth.

The Venomoth started to give chase but Red blocked its path by getting in front of it in a flash of movement.

"Not so fast!" Red said as the Venomoth narrowed its eyes at him before sending a Psybeam at him.

Red jumped out of the way and attempted to punch the Venomoth, but it flew out of the way and used Confusion to pick up some rocks and flung it at him.

Meanwhile, Scyther was struggling to break free of Kadabra's hold on him.

"Scyther!" Scyther looked over to see its trainer rushing over towards him.

Kadabra lifted Scyther higher into the air before flinging him down at Green. Scyther collided full force with Green, causing both of them to crash to the ground.

Green pushed Scyther back onto its feet as Green glared at Kadabra.

"Venomoth!" Venomoth cried as it started flapping its wings, sending a cloud of purple dust at Red.

Red shielded himself but started coughing vigorously as he fell to his knees.

"Red!" Crystal cried as Red felt it harder and harder to breath.

"Don't just stand there, do something, Go-" Crystal paused when she saw Gold's expression.

He was wide-eyed and seemed to be paralyzed with fear.

"Gold..?" Crystal said softly as Scyther used Wing Attack on Venomoth from behind.

Venomoth was knocked to the ground and Scyther finished it off with several Slash attacks, knocking it out.

"Red!" Crystal cried out as she rushed over to Red's side as he clutched his sides in pain as he continued coughing.

"C-Can't breathe..." Red gasped as he collapsed to the ground.

"This isn't good; he inhaled Venomoth's Poisonpowder." Crystal said as panic started to arise in her.

Gold was looking down at Red with an unreadable expression as Green hurried over to them.

"How is he?" Green asked.

"He breathed in Poison Powder... What happened to Kadabra?" Crystal asked as Green looked over his shoulder.

Crystal looked over and widened her eyes in shock to see Kadabra lying in a crater in the ground, knocked out.

"W-What happened over there..?" Crystal asked with a sweatdrop as Green turned his attention back to Red.

"I'll explain later, but we need to get Red home now or else the poison will continue its toll on his body." Green said.

"We could call a taxi." Crystal suggested as Green shook his head.

"No, it would be bad if he transformed. When our bodies get weak, we transform. And the cold air isn't helping either."

"Then what are we suppose to do?" Gold said as Crystal looked up at him in surprise.

Green thought for a second before looking over at Crystal, who gave him a puzzled look. "W-What?"

"Oh, no. You are not thinking what I think you're thinking!" Gold shouted, realizing that Green was still a little dark.

Crystal lifted an eyebrow as Green smirked. "I know of a way that you can help." Green said narrowing his eyes mischievously.

"How-"

Before Crystal could finish, Green took a hold of her wrist and pulled her towards him and hugged her.

"He has no shame..." Gold said twitching in anger while looking to the side as a mini explosion erupted.

Crystal fell back to the ground in shock as she found herself face-to-face with a Tauros.

"WAH!" Crystal cried as she immediately backed away from the Tauros.

"It's just me." Green said in an annoyed tone. "Just hold me around the neck so I don't change back. We can get Red back home quickly this way."

Once they left, Kadabra and Venomoth picked themselves off the ground and a tall woman with long black hair suddenly appeared out of no where.

"Excellent work you two." The woman said as Kadabra and Venomoth bowed.

A Mr. Mime came out of the bushes, holding a camera and gave it to the woman.

The woman ejected a disk that was inside the camera and grinned.

"Everything went according to plan." the woman said an evil glint appeared in her dark violet eyes.

OOOOOOO

Falkner stood with his eye twitching at the sigh in front of him with Crystal hugging a Tauros around the neck and Red lying unconsciously on its back. "Care to explain what happened?"

"Later, but Red inhaled some Poisonpowder!" Crystal said.

Falkner's expression turned serious as he ran into the kitchen to look for some Antidote.

Poli helped Green get Red into bed as his breathing seemed to get worse.

"Hang on, Red." Crystal said as a look of pain continued on Red's face.

Falkner rushed in and poured some purple liquid onto a spoon and held it out towards Red.

"Have him sit up to take the medicine. This will neutralize the poison." Falkner said as Poli propped Red up into a sitting position.

Red let out a few more vicious coughs before his breathing became a little more even and laid back down in bed.

Crystal sighed in relief, seeing that the medicine worked and Red was now resting peacefully.

"He's still going to feel a little pain so, Gold do you mind going to the store to get some more pain killers?" Falkner asked turning to Gold who was leaning against the door frame.

"Why do I have to do it?" Gold shouted coming into the room as Crystal let out a sigh.

'Looks like he's back to his normal self...'

Suddenly, a small explosion erupted as gray smoke poured into the room.

"I'll go." Green offered, back in his original form.

Gold slapped a hand over Crystal's eyes as Falkner sweatdropped.

"That's okay, I'll just go. You just go and get dressed." Falkner said sheepishly.

"...Yeah. Okay... Right... Bye..." Green said before hanging up the phone.

"Called the Main House?" Gold asked as Green nodded.

"Unfortunately, Daisy-nee picked up..." Green sighed as Gold sweatdropped. "She's mad at me for not telling her where I was going."

"Well, looks like Red is going to pull through. You want to finish our fight?" Gold asked.

"Ah..." Green mumbled before looking away. "Nah. I don't feel like it anymore. Though you have gotten stronger, your technique still could use a little work."

"Hey! You can't lead people on like that and then walk away!" Gold shouted as he grabbed Green by the shoulder.

Green whirled around and flipped Gold over onto his stomach on the floor, bringing his arm above him, pinning him to the floor.

"See?" Green said as Gold struggled against his grip.

Crystal came into the room to see what all the noise was about and sweatdropped when she saw Gold pinned to the floor by Green. "We don't need anyone else injured, so cut it out Gold."

"Hello! He's the one who has me pinned to the floor!" Gold shouted as Green pulled his arm back farther, causing a cracking noise.

"OWWWW!"

Green finally let go of Gold, who collapsed onto the floor looking with a look of pain on his face.

"How's Red?" Green asked.

"He's asleep, so let's let him rest." Crystal said as Green nodded. "Are you hungry? I could make something for you if you want."

"Just a glass of water will do fine." Green said as he headed to the living room.

Crystal went into the kitchen and filled a glass with water before bringing it out to Green and set it on the table.

"Do Gold and Red fight every day?" Green asked before taking a drink of water.

"No...But they yell at each other everyday. It gets pretty noisy in this house with the two of them." Crystal chuckled as she sat across the table from Green.

"...Hn... Seems like they're starting to get along..."

Crystal raised an eyebrow at him. "Huh?"

"... They've changed. Before they gave off a more intense... '_stay away from me' _vibe," Green said holding up his pendent and examining it. "But it seems like that's softened. I thought they'd beat each other bloody every day. I see... how unexpected."

He then turned towards Crystal. "... I wonder if it's your doing."

Crystal looked at him in surprise before looking at the tray. "Really? I don't think I've done that much to help them."

"... They are changing in the right direction though," Green said before quietly adding. "... Maybe they can go back to how they used to be with each other."

"What was that?"

"Nothing..." Green said taking another drink from his glass.

"Hey Green, can I ask you something?" Crystal asked as Green turned to face her. "Is Professor Samuel Oak your grandfather?"

Green widened his eyes in shock. "How do you know my grandfather?"

"I work for him in his lab as his assistant. When I was going through one of his old photo albums, I found an old picture with you and this other girl in it-"

Green sighed. "I know what you're thinking and I'm sorry, but I can't see him."

"What?" Crystal asked puzzled.

"If I could visit my grandfather, I would, but Cyrus made it clear that I was not to have any contact with him or I would just be putting him at risk. He doesn't know of my curse and if he found out, those people might come after him too." Green said as his eyes softened sadly.

Crystal gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry..."

Green shook his head. "Don't be. That's just how things are."

Crystal looked at him in surprise, his eyes saying that there was much more to the curse than she knew.

'There seems to be a much darker secret to the curse... Since it's keeping the Zodiac members away from their loved ones...'

Gold was lying on the roof, gazing up at the sky.

He raised his arm and stared intently at the black and white beads on his wrist.

A horrifying roar echoed through his mind, causing him to sit up, breathing heavily and sweat beaded his forehead.

He looked down at the beads again before bringing his hands to his head.

_"Remember where your place is, filthy cat."_

"I know... I know..." Gold muttered burying his head in his hands as Aitaro climbed onto his shoulders with a worried expression.

"Aipompom?"

**To be continued...**

* * *

The ending kinda seems a little weird to me, but I hope you enjoyed it. And yes, Green is pure awesomeness, just not when he goes dark though I think it's kind of funny. Just to let all know, I went back through the other chapters and made some major modifications like changing the names and some situations. Updates will still be inconsistent but will be updated as soon as I can. Please Review!


	11. Valentine's Spa Day

**I'm back! And yes, this is a long one! So all of you who have been patiently awaiting this chapter, enjoy!**

**Characters:**

Crystal Nagareboshi - age 16  
Red Sohma - age 17  
Gold Sohma - age 16  
Falkner Sohma - age 25  
Whitney Sohma - age 19  
Diamond (Dia) Sohma - age 14  
Green Sohma - age 17  
Yellow De Viridian Grove - age 16  
Marley Makkuro - age 16  
Corey Sorao - age 17  
Buck - age 16  
Jackson - age 16

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or Pokémon_

**Valentine's Spa Day**

"Red-kun!"

"Happy Valentine's Day, Red-senpai!"

"Will you be my valentine?"

Red was sitting at his desk with a dumb-founded expression as the valentine's day gifts were piled high on his desk.

"Um... thanks..." Red said with a weak smile while secretly sweatdropping as the girls swooned around him with hearts over their heads.

"Wow, Red-senpai is really popular on Valentine's day..." Yellow said looking in from the side of the doorway as Crystal sweatdropped while Marley was eating some of the chocolates that she found in Crystal's locker. (Crystal didn't know who it was from and doesn't really take to sweets so she let Marley have it. P.S. the chocolate was from Jackson)

Gold came walking down the hallway and stopped to see the girls swooning around Red.

"What's got them so excited?" Gold asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Um... Gold-senpai..."

Gold looked over to his left to see a shy girl with short black hair holding up a small, nicely wrapped package out to him. "This chocolate is for you...!"

"Hey, thanks!" Gold said as he took the small package and added a wink, causing the girl to rush over to her friends and excitedly telling them that he accepted the chocolate.

"Looks like Red-senpai isn't the only popular one." Marley said as she continued chewing.

Yellow looked over at Crystal, who had a look of annoyance on her face. "Crystal, is there something wrong?"

"Huh?" Crystal said snapping back to reality before blushing in embarrassment. "N-No! Nothings wrong! He's just so aggravating!"

Yellow tilted her head to the side. "Who is aggravating?"

"Nice! You got some valentine's chocolate!" Buck said to Gold.

"Lucky. Wish I got some..." Corey said a little downcast.

Gold's smile suddenly faded as his eyes widened. "Wait... did you say Valentine's?"

"Uh yeah. Today **_is _**Valentine's day after all." Buck said raising an eyebrow.

"Don't you have a calendar?" Corey asked as Gold shoved the chocolates into his pocket. **"I have to get home."**

"Huh?" Buck and Corey said with a puzzled look at Gold's fearful expression.

"No... Home would be too obvious..."

Crystal, Yellow, and Marley looked over at Gold curiously as his body started shaking slightly.

"A journey... yeah! I'll just... go someplace where no one can find me!" Gold shouted as he was about to dart down the hallway.

"Hold it!" Crystal said coming forward and taking hold of Gold's ear, pulling him backwards.

"What the hell are you doing? It's too dangerous for me to stay here!" Gold cried as he struggled against her grip.

Crystal pinched his ear tighter, causing him to squeak in pain. "Class hasn't even started, you noob. Come on."

"NOOOOO! OW! OW! OW! OW!" Gold cried as he was forcefully dragged by the ear towards their classroom.

Yellow and Marley watched as they went by, wondering why Gold was so determined to get out.

* * *

"If I get killed, it will be all your fault." Gold grumbled as he and Crystal walked out of the classroom.

"What are you so worried about? It's not like the sky is going to fall." Crystal said in an annoyed tone.

"It might as well..." Gold muttered to himself as they walked outside.

Gold's body suddenly tensed, causing Crystal to look up at him puzzled. He was looking straight ahead as his face paled. She followed his gaze to see a familiar pink-haired girl standing at the school gates with a big smile on her face.

"Gold-kun!" Whitney called happily as she skipped over to him.

Gold quickly turned tale and ran as fast as he could as Whitney ran after him with her Miltank by her side while some of the students who walked by gave them strange looks and whispered among themselves.

"I knew it." Red said rolling his eyes as he walked up.

"So he was trying to avoid Whitney..." Crystal realized with a sweatdrop.

"Red-niisan! Crystal-san!"

Crystal looked around to see Dia with a broad smile on his face. He was wearing his blue jacket and his white scarf was draped around his neck.

"What are you doing here, Dia?" Red asked as Dia walked up to them.

"Whitney-neesan dragged me along. She wanted someone to accompany her while she went shopping and she didn't know how to find the school." Dia said with a well-humored smile.

Red looked at him suspiciously. "So you led her here even though you knew Gold wouldn't be thrilled to see her."

Dia shrugged. "Let's just say revenge is sweet just like pie."

Both Red and Crysal sweatdropped at Dia's dark side, even though he was still smiling.

(At the house)

"So why did you come here?"

"It's valentine's day! And it's an important day for lovers to be together!" Whitney said hugging Gold, who was glaring at a smiling Dia. "What lovers?"

"Don't be rude, Gold-niisan. You should be happy to have someone who loves you very much."

"Aww! Dia-chan is so sweet!" Whitney said as she went over to him and gave him a hug.

Dia flinched at the contact before chuckling nervously while rubbing the back of his head.

Crystal noticed this and eyed Dia suspiciously.

"Doesn't this make you jealous, Gold-kun?" Whitney said slyly as Gold looked to the side with a bored look.

"Not in the least."

"Mow! Gold-kun you're so mean!"

"Whitney-neesan, can you let me go?"

"Dammit! I should have gone on that journey when I had the chance," Gold grunted before pointing at Crystal. "This is all your fault! If you hadn't stopped me, I would have been miles away from here by now!"

"You are such a noob." Crystal said as a mad-mark appeared over Gold's head.

"So, did you already give Gold chocolate?" Falkner asked looking up from the newspaper.

Whitney looked down in disappointment. "For some strange reason he won't accept it. Watch."

She held out a giant heart-shaped chocolate to Gold that had a pink ribbon around the transparent container. It also had a little Meowth button on the corner.

"Happy Valentine's day, Gold-kun! A chocolate heart stuffed full of my love all for you!"

"Keep it! I don't want it! Not if it's from you!" Gold shouted.

Whitney started tearing up, causing everyone to get nervous.

"Oh just man up and eat it. It's not like it's going to kill you." Red said in an annoyed tone as Gold glared at him.

"Look! If I said I'm not going to eat it, I'm not going to eat it!" Gold shouted as Whitney started sniffling.

Crystal looked from the chocolate to Gold before getting up and walking into the other room.

"Wah! Gold-kun, you're such a meanie!" Whitney cried as she buried her face in her hands.

Gold sweatdropped as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He hated seeing others cry because of him.

"Eh-"

"Sorry to keep you all waiting!"

Gold looked up to see Crystal holding a paper bag and her Smoochum on her shoulder.

"I had almost forgotten that I got everyone something for Valentine's Day." Crystal said with a smile as Gold looked at her in surprise.

"I didn't have enough money to buy chocolate so I made mochi with ice cream in the middle instead."

Crystal dug into her bag and handed a nicely wrapped mochi with a red ribbon tied at the top over to Chumee.

Chumee walked over to Red and offered him the mochi. Red smiled gratefully and took the mochi and gave Chumee a pat on the head.

"Arigatoh, Nagareboshi-san." Red said as Crystal smiled.

"This one is for you Falkner-san." Crystal said as she handed Falkner a mochi that had a turquoise ribbon.

"For me?" Falkner said with a surprised expression as Crystal nodded.

"I mean, you are the one who allowed me to stay here. So, thank you."

Falkner nodded a thanks as she took out two more mochis, one had a pink ribbon and the other had a dark blue ribbon.

"And here's one for Whitney and Diamond." Crystal said as Chumee passed Whitney and Dia their mochies.

"Aw, how sweet! Thank you so much!" Whitney cried as she ran and gave Crystal a big hug.

"Yeah... Arigatoh gozaimasu!" Dia said with tears of joy running down his face while holding up the mochi like it was a gift from God.

Gold was staring at the wrapped mochi that the others had with an emotionless expression as Aitaro came up to him and tilted his head with a puzzled face.

Red unwrapped the mochi and took a bite as a content look crossed over his face.

"Wow, this is delicious. This was really well made, Nagareboshi-san." Red said as a mad-mark appeared over Gold's head.

Dia nodded in agreement as a music note appeared over his head, indicating joy and happiness while eating.

Crystal smiled as a blush appeared on her face. "I'm glad you like it. Oh, and I made one for Green and Riley-san."

"Not to worry, I will safely bring your delicious treats to Green-niisan and nii-sama!" Dia said raising a hand before Whitney pushed him over.

"I doubt it'll even get to the front porch. I'll make sure he doesn't eat them." Whitney said as Dia sweatdropped with a sheepish smile.

"..."

Crystal glanced at Gold who had his back to her but was looking down at the chocolate heart that Whitney had tried to give him.

Falkner gave Gold a blank look. "Think you're being manly by not eating the chocolate, Gold?"

"All you're proving is how big of a baby you are." Red said as waves of annoyance and frustration emanated from Gold.

"Someone who would trample over someone else's heart like that falls short from being human let alone a man." Dia said in a matter of fact tone while chewing on a piece of his mochi.

Crystal sweatdropped realizing that they were pressuring Gold into submission.

"Hmph!"

Gold had a giant mad-mark over his head as his bangs hid his expression.

"Fine. I just got to eat it? Then I'll eat it!" Gold shouted as he threw off the wrapping to Whitney's chocolate heart and started devouring it like a wild animal.

"Yay! Gold-kun is eating my chocolate!" Whitney cried in happiness as she hugged him around the waist as he continued consuming the chocolate in an animal-like fashion.

Red let out an exasperated sigh as Falkner stared blankly at him.

Gold stood up, still chewing the last remaining part of the chocolate with an annoyed expression on his face before stomping out of the room like a miffed toddler.

Crystal sighed before looking down into the bag at the last mochi that was tied with a gold ribbon.

"Gold-kun! Don't be such a party pooper!" Whitney called after him.

"Whitney-neesan, maybe you should tone it down just a little." Dia advised as Whitney let out an exasperated sigh.

"What? I can't help it if I love Gold-kun so much!" Whitney said with a giggle.

Red couldn't help but roll his eyes as Falkner looked at them with a blank, uninterested look.

"Hehehe. Don't think I didn't forget all of you!" Whitney said as Crystal looked at her in surprise.

Whitney dug through her bag before pulling out a spa brochure and placing it on the table.

"I'm taking you all out to the spa! I'm inviting Green-chan too! Won't that be fun?" Whitney said as everyone sweatdropped.

"Um, Whitney-neesan, were you planning on going today?" Dia said sheepishly as Whitney flashed him a bright smile.

"Of course not silly. I was planning to take you all tomorrow!"

Red sweatdropped. "Whitney, did it ever occur to you that we may be busy tomorrow?"

"I know it's last minute, but it'll be fun!"

Red let out a sigh as Crystal looked through her schedule.

"Unless you really don't want to go..." Whitney sniffled.

"Well..." Red sweatdropped.

"... It doesn't look like we have anything planned for tomorrow, so I guess it would be okay, considering you went through all the trouble." Crystal said closing her schedule book as Whitney tackled her into a big hug.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, Crystal-chan!" Whitney cried happily as Crystal felt like she was being crushed to death.

'Now I know how Gold feels...'

"I guess it's been decided then." Red sighed again while leaning back a little, letting his back rest against the wall.

* * *

Gold climbed up onto the roof and laid down with his arms behind his head.

He let out a sigh as he looked up at the sky. "This whole day has just been a total nightmare."

"GOLD-KUN!"

Gold winced at the sound of her voice as he sat up to see Whitney standing below him with a bright smile.

"What do you want now?" Gold asked irritably.

"Tomorrow I'm taking everyone to the spa for the rest of my Valentine's Day present! Green-chan, Dia-chan, Crystal-chan, and Red-chan are all coming!" Whitney said.

"Then there's no way I'm going. Not with both Red and Green there!" Gold shouted down to her.

"You've been so tense lately, I think the spa would do you some good."

Normally, Gold would immediately take the chance to go to the spa, but since Whitney was going, everything kind of just backfired in his mind. He didn't want to risk being beaten by Whitney's wrath.

"I'm perfectly fine without going to the spa. Especially since you won't be here."

"Gold-kun! You have to come! It won't be the same without you!"

"Forget it! I'm not going!"

"Green-chan mentioned something to me recently. He told me that you and Red-chan are getting along better," Gold's eyes widened in shock. "Maybe by spending some more time together, you guys can get to know each other better and get along even better!"

"Shut up!"

Whitney flinched as Gold stood up, his expression completely hostile. "What the hell do you know? 'Get to know each other better'? What a load of crap!"

"Gold-kun..."

"It sucks having to live under the same roof as him! For all I care, he could drown at the hot springs at the spa!" Gold shouted before jumping off the roof on the other side, disappearing from view.

Inside, Red ran a hand through his hair in annoyance as Falkner let out a sigh having heard everything that was being said outside.

"Maybe it'd be best if he didn't come." Red said.

Crystal looked out towards Whitney who looked like she was deep in thought and wondered if she was all right after Gold's outburst.

'Why is he so against on getting to be on better terms with Red?'

(Later that night)

Whitney and Dia had gone home to prepare for tomorrow but not before staying for dinner, much to Gold's annoyance.

As Crystal was cleaning the dishes Gold slowly came in a leaned against the door frame while looking at Crystal's back from the corner of his eye.

Crystal seemed to sense someone else was there and turned around to see Gold.

She narrowed her eyes slightly at him and turned back to cleaning the dishes with Chumee wiping them dry.

Gold let out a sigh as he came over to the sink and leaned on the counter next to Crystal.

The two remained in silence for a while before Gold grunted in frustration.

"You're mad at me, aren't you?"

Crystal remained silent, apparently giving Gold the silent treatment.

Gold narrowed his eyes in frustration before watching the water run down from the sink.

"Alright, alright, I know. I was a jerk. But..."

"But nothing. I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." Crystal said sternly.

Gold ran a hand through his messy hair before letting out another sigh and walked away with Aitaro chasing after him.

'Me and my big mouth...' Gold said to himself as he went over to the phone and dialed the number to the main house.

Falkner peeked around the corner before giving a content smile and went back to doing his work.

"Yes, could you connect me to Whitney Sohma's house? This is Gold. Yeah... I'll hold."

Gold waited for a few seconds before a woman's voice answered on the other end. **_"Hello?"_**

"Ah... Hi, auntie. Is Whitney there?" Gold asked while rubbing the back of his head nervously.

**_"Hang on for one moment."_**

After a few seconds, Whitney's voice came over the phone. **_"Gold-kun is that you?"_ **

Gold brought the phone away from is ear for a second before bringing it back.

"Yeah... I, uh, just wanted to tell you that I'm..." Gold paused. "...Sorry for yelling at you earlier and that I'll come along on that spa trip tomorrow."

**_"..."_**

"Whitney...?"

**_"YAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY! GOLD-KUN IS COMING TO THE SPA!" _**

Gold nearly dropped the phone as Whitney's shriek of joy nearly blew out his eardrums. He kept the phone away from his ear as she started ranting on about how happy she was before she finally settled down.

**_"Do you mean that, Gold-kun? Are you reallly coming?"_**

"Yeah... I was a jerk, so I'll go to make it up to you. If that's okay."

**_"*Giggle* Of course it is! Yippee! I get to see Gold-kun tomorrow!"_**

"Alright, alright. I'll see you tomorrow then." Gold hung up and sighed, bringing up a hand to his head and rubbed his temples. "Sheesh..."

"That was very nice of you, Gold."

Gold looked up to see Crystal standing in the hallway with her arms folded, a suspicious look plastered on her face.

"What?"

"Did you mean what you said about coming to the spa tomorrow?" Crystal asked.

Gold looked at her puzzled for a moment before running a hand through his hair again. "Yeah. What, did you think I was lying?"

Crystal shook her head. "Nevermind."

She turned on her heel and went back into the kitchen.

Gold leaned against the wall and sank down to the floor as Airtaro climbed up onto his shoulder with a concerned look on its face.

Something else was obviously bothering his master, but Aitaro didn't want to bother him with it.

(The next day)

Everyone boarded a bus that was headed to the spa spot at the place Whitney told them they were to meet.

Crystal spotted Green and Dia sitting in the middle. Dia was busily munching down on some snacks he brought as Green had his usual stoic look on his face while looking out the window.

"Hey." Red greeted the two of them. Dia waved as Green nodded his head in acknowledgment.

Whitney immediately rushed over to Gold and hugged him around the waist.

"Yay! Gold-kun **_is _**coming! I was hoping you would!" Whitney gushed as Gold let out a sigh.

Whitney guided Gold to some seats as Crystal sat with Red on the other side of them.

It was a short bus ride to the spa but Gold commented how it wasn't soon enough since Whitney had practically attached herself to his arm the whole way.

"I rented out the entire spa bath just for us, so we'll be the only ones in there today!" Whitney said.

When Crystal stepped off the bus she was in complete awe at the high class spa building.

"How did you pay for all of this?" Crystal asked while sweatdropping.

Whitney giggled. "Mama helped me out, but I also had to dig into Green-chan and Red-chan's bank accounts to pay for the reservation!"

"YOU DID WHAT?" Red cried as Green looked like his spirit flew out of him.

"You didn't think I could possibly pay for all of this myself did you?" Whitney asked as a mad-mark pulsed on the side of Red's head.

Gold chuckled as Green rubbed his temples. "My hard earned pay... All went to a stupid spa trip."

"Now, now, this is going to be fun and relaxing. Trust me!" Whitney reassured as she lead the way into the spa.

Crystal sweatdropped as she and the others followed Whitney into the spa entrance.

Once they entered, Whitney rushed up to the receptionist and told them of their reservation.

The receptionist nodded and led them to the hot spring area.

Crystal's eyes widened in awe when she saw the massive hot spring sight. The hot springs were fairly large in diameter and the fence that blocked the boy and girls' areas stood high near the ceiling. Steam was rising up all over the room, giving it a humid yet peaceful atmosphere.

"Whoa... This place is amazing." Crystal said in awe.

Whitney smiled brightly. "Only the best! The dressing rooms are over there, let's go!"

Crystal followed before pausing to look over her shoulder to see Gold staring after her.

"You better not peak, pervert." Crystal said narrowing her eyes as Gold's face lit up with embarrassment and anger.

"I won't! Sheesh, why do you always have to jump to those conclusions?" Gold shouted with a mad-mark over his head as Crystal turned away from him.

"Gee, I don't know." Crystal said sarcastically, making Gold more annoyed as she went into the dressing room with Whitney.

Gold twitched a couple more times in frustration before he felt a tug on the side of his shirt.

"Gold-niisan, the boy's dressing room is this way. Red-niisan and Green-niisan already headed over." Dia said pointing to the opposite end.

Gold let out a sigh before following his cousin.

* * *

Once they were done changing, Crystal settled down into the water, allowing the warmth to soothe her overstressed body.

"Doesn't this feel great?" Whitney sighed as she sank lower into the water, allowing her chin to rest just above the surface.

Chumee and Whitney's Miltank were sitting together, enjoying the steam.

Crystal nodded in agreement. "I have to admit, I wasn't to keen on the idea of coming here in the first place but it was worth it. So, thanks."

Whitney smiled brightly as they suddenly heard a splash come from the other side of the wall separating the spas.

"DIA, CUT IT OUT!" Gold shouted as Dia's chuckles could be heard.

"Oh! Oh! Me and my friend made this new manzai act and I think it's pretty good." Dia said excitedly as Gold sweatdropped.

"It goes like this: Speaking of Pokemoooon~" Dia started as Beh made a similar pose.

Gold immediately grabbed Dia by the throat, making him shut-up as he glared down at him in annoyance.

"You can't do a manzai with only one person, you dolt!" Gold shouted as Dia started laughing.

"Why don't you be the straight man, Gold?" Green said resting against the pool walls with his arms spread out beside him while Red sat a few feet away from him with his chin resting against the water's surface like Whitney.

Green's Scyther was meditating under the small waterfall as Poli floated around it with a content look on its face. Aitaro wasn't too far away and was enjoying the warmth the hot spring gave off.

"Yeah! Follow my lead." Dia said in a matter-of-fact tone as Gold sweatdropped.

"I rather not."

"Aw, come on. It'll be fun. Speaking of Pokemoooon~"

"I said I'm not doing it!" Gold shouted as he started giving Dia a noogie as Red and Green just ignored their relatives' scene.

Crystal let out another sigh as Whitney giggled. "Why does Diamond put up with Gold's abuse?"

"Dia-chan is Dia-chan. That's just how he is. No matter what you do to him or say to him, he'll just keep that cute smile on his face and dismisses it. He always stays on the positive side and never dreads on the negatives. I kind of envy him for that." Whitney said looking softly at the water. "You just can't stay mad at him for that. He's so sweet. Even Gold-kun cherishes him like a little brother."

Crystal gave a small smile.

"But..."

Crystal looked up at Whitney as she looked back at her with a sly grin. "The only thing he can't stand is anyone bringing up his Zodiac."

Crystal widened her eyes in surprise but recalled how Dia had acted when Gold was about to tell her what Pokémon he was.

"I have noticed that and he didn't seem to like you hugging him too much. But, I don't recall there being a funny Pokémon in the Zodiac." Crystal said as Whitney started giggling.

Whitney waded over to Crystal's side and whispered, "Do you really want to know what he is?"

Crystal thought about it for a moment. Though she did respect Dia's privacy, she did want to know what he was and why he felt so bent on keeping it a secret.

She nodded slowly before Whitney smiled mischievously at her.

"Okay, here's the plan..."

OOOOOOO

After they were done soaking in the hot spring, Gold sat in the changing room while drying out his hair with a towel.

He slowly dropped his arms to his side as he felt uneased by how Crystal was going on giving him the cold-shoulder even after he had apologized to Whitney and came to this silly spa trip.

Gold couldn't understand why this bothered him so much. He felt much like how he did when she had gone back to her original home for a short amount of time.

He looked up and was surprised to see Whitney run down the hall with an excited look on her face.

'That can't be good...' Gold thought dully as he continued drying his hair.

Whitney rushed down the hall and found Red and Green having a friendly, yet competitive game of ping-pong.

"Hey, have you guys seen Dia-chan anywhere?" Whitney asked.

"He's by... the all-you-can-eat... buffet!" Red said without looking over at her as he ran from one side to the other of the ping-pong table, managing to counter all of Green's attacks.

"Obvious." Whitney said mentally smacking herself before rushing over to the eating area.

Just as Red had said, Dia was stacking a tower of food up onto his plate, his Munchlax doing the same. It had a variety of fruits and berries on it and also some cookies and other sugary sweets.

"Doesn't this all look so good, Beh?" Dia asked as Beh nodded hungrily, drooling at all the food.

"There you are Dia!" Whitney said as Dia slowly turned around with his tower of food.

"What is it, Whitney-neesan?" Dia said.

Whitney just beamed. "I want to show you something amazing, come on!"

"Eh? But I didn't eat yet." Dia whined before Whitney started dragging Dia and Beh away down the hall.

"You can eat later, just come on!"

Whitney led Dia outside to a small Japanese garden with a large pond.

"Wow. It's nice." Dia said looking around at the view.

Dia and Whitney walked over to the edge of the pond and looked over the glittering surface.

Whitney looked around as if looking for something as an annoyed look crossed her face.

"Where is she?"

"Huh? Where is who?" Dia asked as Whitney flinched before smiling nervously at him and waving frantically with one hand.

"Ehehehehe... No one, no one!" Whitney said sheepishly as Crystal suddenly came rushing over with a bag of firecrackers in her arms. (I'm no good at coming up with diabolical schemes so yeah...)

"Sorry, I'm late-" Crystal's sandal suddenly struck a rock that was sticking out a little more than it should, tripping over it and falling towards the pond.

"AHH!" Crystal cried as Dia shot forward and grabbed her by the wrist.

Dia winced as he tried to pull her back up but unfortunately, Crystal had too much momentum going for her and ended up accidentally pulling Dia with her into the pond.

!SPLASH!

!POOF!

Whitney stared blankly at the scene for a moment before laughing hysterically while gripping her stomach.

Crystal spat some water out of her mouth, feeling absolutely embarrassed about falling into the pond and getting all wet. But at least she wasn't injured thanks to Dia.

"Diamond, are you oka-" Crystal paused and stared.

"Karp! Karp!"

In her lap, splashing and flopping around was a Magikarp, tangled up in Dia's robe.

"He's a..."

* * *

"Magikarp... yeah." Dia said in depression after the whole ordeal, fully clothed and back to normal.

Crystal sweatdropped. "So... Your actual Zodiac is the Gyarados, but for some reason..."

"He transforms into a Magikarp!" Gold said cracking up after hearing their explanation. "You knew she would find out eventually."

Dia dropped his head in defeat as Whitney giggled.

"Sorry about that, Dia-chan. But Crystal, that improvisation was superb!"

Crystal sweatdropped as she started drying her hair with a towel. "I didn't mean for **_that _**to happen. I just got lost because this spa is so large and then the rest was a total accident."

"What were you planning to do with those firecrackers anyway?" Green said, all six of them gathered in the lounging area.

"You'll never know now since they're all wet. Maybe we can still use them once they dry out." Whitney said examining the box.

Green looked to the side with an annoyed look and mumbled, "You're almost as bad as that pesky woman."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Anyways, I'm sorry, Diamond. I didn't mean to make you embarrassed." Crystal said bowing in apology.

Dia was silent for a moment before giving her a well-humored smile and rubbed the back of his head. "That's okay. It was an accident after all."

Crystal smiled. 'Whitney was right. Diamond really is such a kind person.'

"You're so self-conscious about being the Magikarp. You always think people are going to laugh at you." Gold teased as he grabbed hold of Dia and poked him on the cheek.

Red came over and smacked Gold over the head. "Cut it out. Hasn't he gone through enough embarrassment for one day?"

As Red and Gold started trading insults, Dia got up and walked out of the room.

Crystal noticed this and followed after him. She found him sitting at a table in the eating area with Beh happily eating his food.

"Hey, are you really okay, Dia? I mean, I really am sorry for having to-"

Dia shook his head. "It's not you. I... I just remembered something. That's all."

Crystal sat in the chair next to him and saw how his usual smile had disappeared and had a sad look on his face.

"When I was little, the adults would always tease me about the Magikarp."

**_"Because he's the Gyarados, he transforms into the Gyarados' pathetic offspring!"_**

**_"So his form is a pun!"_**

**_"Yes, a pun! I guess that's the reason why he's so dopey!"_**

_The adults would always laugh at me because the Magikarp was the weakest and most pathetic Pokémon out there._

_They would always joke saying: "Diamond is so slow and stupid. No wonder he's so dopey, just like the Magikarp!"_

_I was laughed at so often, I know they were joking most of the time, but... After a while, it seemed like they were laughing **at** me._

_Back then, I was really irritable and I would snap really easily. I would go into this mode of anger... rage and snap at everyone who spoke to me. I let my emotions get the better of me._

_I was filled with such hate and anger... I don't know how to describe all the feelings I felt. But..._

_They still laughed at me... looked down on me._

_One of the adults was pointing and laughing at me and I snapped. I shouted all of my rage at that one person, cursing them._

_I had almost attacked them when..._

**_"Hey. Cut it out."_**

_An eight year old Dia whirled around to see an eleven year old Green staring at him with cold green eyes._

**_"Shut up! He deserved it! They're always laughing at me! I hate it!" _**_Dia shouted._

**_"I hate them! They're always saying how I'm slow... how I'm stupid!"_**

_Green looked at him calmly. **"So, are you really like that then?"**_

_Dia widened his eyes._

**_"Are you really 'stupid'?"_**

_Dia's eyes started trembling. "No... No I... I'm not... I'm not stupid... I'm not stupid."_

_Don't judge me based on what I am... and laugh._

**_"Yeah, that's what I thought." _**_Green said before walking away with his hands in his pockets._

"From then on, I was able to put all the remarks and jokes behind me. Green-niisan helped to set me free. I was able to smile and laugh again after that. I didn't care what those people said anymore, I was free." Dia said as Crystal gave him a sympathetic look.

"I owe a lot to Green-niisan. He also had a temper problem as well since he's the Tauros, so he was really able to relate to me and help me with my feelings. If it weren't for him, I would still be dreading on my anger, which probably wouldn't be the best thing." Dia chuckled.

Crystal smiled. "It sounds like you two are pretty close."

"Well, not as close as the Kanto trio. Those three have been together since they were really little." Dia said as Crystal looked at him puzzled.

"The Kanto trio? Red, Green, and who? Gold?"

Dia chuckled again. "No, but you'll find out later. Anyways, it seems like today is almost over. We should head back to where everyone else is."

Crystal nodded as Dia smiled at her again. "Thanks for not laughing at my form and for listening."

"No problem." Crystal smiled before walking back out to the lounging area with Dia and Beh right behind her.

Crystal went back to the locker rooms where she picked up her bag, when she went through it she was shocked to find that the mochi she had been planning to give to Gold was gone.

"Oh no, where did it go? Did it fall out on accident?" Crystal searched frantically around the room but to no avail.

She let out a heavy sigh and decided it was lost. She felt bad in a way since she really did want to give Gold something for Valentine's Day like the others. But what else could she do?

As the six of them waited for the bus, Red noticed the downcast expression on Crystal's face.

"Hey, did you have a good time?" Red asked as Crystal snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at him and smiled.

"Yeah, I did. How about you?"

"Gold was much quieter during the afternoon so I have to say it was pretty peaceful despite him being there." Red said as a mad-mark appeared over Gold's head.

"If you're going to say something about me, say it to my face!" Gold shouted as Green rolled his eyes at his immaturity.

"Thanks for the spa trip, Whitney-neesan. It was really fun." Dia said as Whitney beamed.

"It was my pleasure!"

Crystal glanced down at her bag and then up at Gold. He looked over at her feeling her gaze and when they made eye contact, Gold looked away.

After their little dispute, the air between them seemed to have thickened, much to Crystal's dismay. Though she felt like she was a little at fault since Gold had gone out of his way to apologize to Whitney and even came along on the spa despite Red being there but they had still yet to resolve their dispute. Crystal didn't even know why the air between then had even thickened in the first place. Was it because she was offended that Gold didn't take the Valentine's Day present from Whitney? Was it because she felt like she might be rejected as well? Wait...

Crystal shook her head. There was no way that last one would be it.

But she couldn't help but feel a nagging feeling...

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot."

Crystal looked up to see Dia beaming, though there was also a suspicious air to it.

"I almost forgot to tell you guys that this will be my first year in high school and I'll be going to Kanto High, the same school you guys are going to! Oh, and Sapphire-neesan will also be transferring in as well. I also forgot to mention that she just got back from her trip." Dia said with a dopey smile on his face as Red, Gold, and Crystal stared at him blankly before a horrified look crossed over Gold's face.

"NOOOOOOOO!"

"Are you sure you want to transfer into a public school, dear?"

"Yeah, I can't stand going to that private school where all those snooty people are. It also feels confining in a way, ya know?"

"Alright, just be careful around boys and you know what I mean when I say that."

A girl with tea brown hair wearing a brown tank top and yellow shorts and a red bandanna looked over at her father and grinned, showing her sharp fangs. "Yeah, yeah, I know, dad."

**To be continued...**

* * *

Woo! That was a long one! I guess it makes up for the time I made you all wait lol! Anyways, there were a lot of content in this one: Drama, Valentine's Day (I know I'm late), Back Story, Dia's Zodiac Pokemon (Finally XD), introducing a long awaited character... Yeah, a lot of stuff happened. Hopefully it wasn't too shabby and I apologize for my lateness. I haven't had too much inspiration for this fic until recently so... PLEASE REVIEW!

Oh, HAPPY BIRTHDAY YELLOW! Wait a second, how dare she! Today is my birthday! She stole my birthday! I was born first, Yellow!

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!**


	12. White Day Suprises

**I feel like I want to shoot myself! DX AARRRRRGGGGG! I feel so stupid! When I went to replace the 4th chapter because there were leftover mistakes in it, I didn't check the content before I replaced it and I replaced it with the wrong content! I copied and pasted this other thing when I realized it was still there on the copy and paste! Now it's gone! NOOOOO! *sob* Ugh, well, hopefully I can make a better chapter for that later...**

**But enough of that! I know, I'm super duper late! I know! I know! I know! But lately, I've had close to no inspiration on this story, but somehow I was able to pull something together for a pretty long chapter. I hope you all enjoy 'cause this chapter was made from my sweat and tears! DX Not really, but you get the point. This was such a hard chapter to come up with and if anyone is still reading this, well, it's your lucky day! Okay, enough of my pointless ranting, enjoy the chapter!  
**

**Characters:**

Crystal Nagareboshi - age 16  
Red Sohma - age 17  
Gold Sohma - age 16  
Falkner Sohma - age 25  
Riley Sohma - age 25  
Diamond (Dia) - age 14

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or Pokémon_

**White Day Surprises**

"Ah, good of you to come, Falkner-san! I've got a White Day present for you!" Riley said in a sing-song tone as Falkner stared at him blankly.

!POW!

Dia came in holding a tray of drinks and food as Riley came flying across the room and crashed into the wall. He looked over to see Falkner with an intimidating look on his face, cracking his knuckles as Riley chuckled sheepishly.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding! It was actually for Crystal-chan from me and Dia-otouto...Spare me."

"Idiot." Falkner said as he came in and grabbed the bag out of Riley's hand as Riley's Lucario let out an exasperated sigh.

"Good afternoon, Falkner-niisan." Dia said with a goofy grin and offered Falkner some tea.

Falkner smiled and took the cup, nodding a thanks before throwing a glare back down at Riley, who had picked himself off the floor and was dusting his navy blue suit off.

"Why must you always treat me with such abuse?" Riley said putting up his hands innocently.

"If you're going to act like a child, I'll punish you like one." Falkner said sitting down while folding his arms as his Noctowl came to perch on one of the armrests of his chair.

"Gee, I'd hate to be your kid." Riley said as he pulled up another chair. "Dia-otouto, do you mind if you let me and Falkner-san talk in private?"

Dia nodded and placed the tray on Riley's desk before leaving the two adults to talk privately with his Munchlax trailing after him.

After he closed the door, Falkner glanced over at Riley.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Falkner asked leaning against his hand which was propped up on the armrest.

"I just wanted to pass on a thanks to Crystal-chan for the Valentine's Day mochi, it was very delicious." Riley said with a goofy grin as Falkner slapped a hand over his face in exasperation.

"You called me all the way here for **_that_**? You could have just called her over the phone to express your thanks." Falkner said running a hand through his hair in annoyance.

Sometimes, Falkner felt like Riley was just a big four-year old who found his fun in annoying the people around him. He was like that even when they were kids.

Riley's goofy grin faded into a dark smile as he put his hands together and leaned his chin against them.

"Well, there's something else too..."

Falkner looked at Riley with indifference before shooting him a serious look, feeling the atmosphere in the room turn cold.

"Care to share what's on your mind, if you allow?" Falkner asked narrowing his eyes.

Riley just chuckled as his dark blue eyes glinted darkly.

* * *

For a whole month, Crystal and Gold had hardly talked to each other or even acknowledged the other.

Even Red was starting to get worried about the tension between the two. The only tension he was used to was the one between him and Gold and even that was more tolerable than this.

The two would sometimes bump into each other in the hallway but would just awkwardly continue on their way without a word.

Red wondered what was going on between the two but held his peace knowing it was probably none of his business. And it was most likely that neither of them would want to talk about it.

Gold had spent most of his time in his room, which is very unlike him since he usually likes to be outside. He had hardly spoken for the past month, which Red didn't even think it was possible.

Crystal felt pretty guilty at this point. She felt as if it was her fault that this had happened between them. When she had attempted to say something to him, she couldn't say a word and the two would go on ignoring each other. It was awkward between then now and Crystal hated it. She hated feeling so far apart from someone who she had grown so accustomed to, befriended.

Gold was aggravating none the less, but Crystal had to admit that he had a very kind heart underneath his cocky exterior.

If only she had found where the missing mochi had gone, and maybe Gold wouldn't have been left out of being given Valentine's Day gifts.

'He must feel a little angry about that.' Crystal mentally sighed. She could make another, but somehow, it just wouldn't be the same.

Though she found his attitude towards Whitney about Red offensive and rude, she still felt like she shouldn't have given him the cold shoulder. She just couldn't understand why he hated the fact of getting to know Red better or trying to be nicer to him. Sure, Red was the Pikachu and Gold was the Meowth, but is that truly any reason to hate one another? Or does the problem lurk deeper within the Sohmas than she realized?

"Well, it's been a whole month and you two have still yet to work things out." Red sighed snapping Crystal out of her thoughts.

She looked at Red curiously for a moment before lowering them down to her hands in her lap.

"I know, but..." Crystal didn't know what to say as Red took a sip of his drink.

For the past month now, Gold had locked himself in his room, no one knowing what he was doing up there. He hardly made any noise while in his room, with occasionally swearing, followed by a trip to the bathroom for a band-aid.

Crystal was curious about what he was doing, but couldn't bring herself to face him after what happened.

"What exactly happened anyways? I mean, you two seemed to be on relatively good terms before the whole spa trip. Did you guys have a fight?" Red asked curiously.

Crystal let out another sigh before shaking her head. "To tell you the truth, I really don't know. I guess I got mad at him for yelling at Whitney earlier and then... I don't know."

Red chuckled. "I see. I guess you two let the problem go way out of proportion. Well, looks like you guys are just going to have to work it out somehow."

Crystal nodded before looking to the side. The truth was, she actually wanted Gold and Red to get along better. The fighting was annoying and she hated to have to clean up afterwards. But truthfully, she thought it'd be better if they got along. They both had something they admired about the other, though they themselves were oblivious. If only they could sort out their issues with each other, this house would be a lot quieter and hold a less hostile atmosphere between the two.

'If only they knew…'

"Hm, this is quite unlike you. You don't usually get stumped like this." Red said thoughtfully as Crystal laid her head on the table in her arms.

"I know, but... I just don't know what to do..." Crystal said softly. "He's aggravating, but isn't that bad once you get to know him..."

"I know..." Red said just above a whisper.

Crystal looked at him in surprise. "What?"

Red immediately realized what he said and quickly waved his hand in front of him. "Nothing! Nothing!"

Crystal raised an eyebrow as Red laughed nervously while sweatdropping, but didn't press him further on it.

Red gave her a weak smile before glancing out the screen door that was left open to let in the March breeze in, watching as the leaves blew in the wind.

* * *

As Crystal crossed the hallway she saw that Gold's door was hanging slightly ajar. Curiosity got the best of her as she silently went over and peered through the small opening. She spotted Gold sitting in the middle of his room apparently working on something. His back was to her so she couldn't tell what he was doing.

Upon listening a little closer, she could hear a small scratching sound, though she didn't know what it could be.

"AH, CRAP!"

Crystal ducked behind the door from Gold's sudden outburst, although he didn't turn around.

Gold put down whatever he was working on and stretched, cracking his back in the process. He let out a loud yawn before falling onto his back with his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling.

"Damn it…That's going to leave a mark." Gold groaned as Crystal sat behind his door, listening in on what he was saying.

Crystal's eyes softened after hearing his voice. It seemed so long since he heard him talk. Though she initially thought his voice was the most annoying thing on earth, she wished she could hear him tease her and crack stupid jokes like he used to.

'Just go and talk to him! It's the only way!' Crystal told herself as determination sparkled in her crystal blue eyes.

She took a breath and was about to call out to Gold, but nothing came out. Crystal found herself unable to say a word and felt completely hopeless. She couldn't just leave things the way the were, she had to speak up.

'I'm such a coward! If I don't say anything…' Crystal thought as an image of a smiling Gold flashed across her mind.

'Nothing will ever be fixed.'

She stood up in front of Gold's door and was about to knock when several loud knocks came from the front door, nearly giving Crystal a heart attack.

"I got it!" Red called from downstairs as Crystal let out an exasperated sigh.

She looked at Gold's door one last time before going downstairs to join Red and whoever was at the door.

Just as Crystal came down the stairs, Red suddenly flew across the room with the door on top of him before crashing to the floor.

"Red! Are you okay?" Crystal cried as she quickly rushed over to him and pried the door off of him.

She then looked over towards the door to see a girl around her age standing triumphantly in the doorway. She had a blue headband and wore a baggy white shirt and cargo pants, giving her a very unruly appearance and that of a tomboy. She also seemed to have a couple of fangs sticking out of the corner of her mouth. She had light blown hair that was divided into a couple of pigtails. But the thing that stuck out the most about her were her dark, shining, blue eyes.

'Who is this girl? Could she be part of that organization that has been looking for the Sohmas?' Crystal thought anxiously before the girl in the doorway suddenly smirked.

"Yo! Long time no see!" the girl said enthusiastically with an accent that Crystal had never heard before.

"Ar!" A small Aron who was on the girl's shoulder barked.

"Eh?" Crystal said dumbfounded.

Red sat up and rubbed his head before smiling warmly at the newcomer. "Hey, Sapphire. Still as enthusiastic as usual I see. But next time, just open the door instead of breaking it down."

Sapphire laughed loudly while rubbing the back of her head. "I was just excited to see ya'll again, I couldn't help it."

"You know this girl?" Crystal asked, still quite confused as Red chuckled at her expression.

"She's another one of our relatives. This here is Sapphire Sohma. She's a year younger than you and Gold. Sapphire, this is Crystal Nagareboshi."

Crystal realized that this was the girl that Dia had talked about joining them this coming year, to which Gold wasn't too happy about. She also recalled Gold talking about one of their relatives whom he had dubbed as Sapp and decided that this must be the girl he was referring to.

Sapphire looked at Crystal with a blank expression before her eyes lit up and a large grin appeared on her face. She bounded over to Crystal and stuck her face very close to hers, causing Crystal to flinch.

"Ah, so you're the girl I've heard so much about from Dia-kun!" Sapphire said straightening up as Crystal could only nod her head sheepishly.

Sapphire grabbed on of Crystal's hands and shook it vigorously. Her grip slightly surprised Crystal as she was pretty skinny but had a firm and strong grip.

"Good ta meet ya!" Sapphire said enthusiastically as Crystal gave her a weak smile while sweatdropping.

"G-Good to meet you too…"

"Well, if it isn't little miss wildchild girl! It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Crystal's eyes widened in shock as an annoyed expression came over Sapphire's face as she let go of Crystal's hand.

Gold was standing beside Sapphire while patting her on the head like a dog's with a wide grin on his face.

"Gol-"

Before Crystal could finish, a mad-mark appeared over Sapphire's head before she grabbed hold of Gold's arm and threw him over her shoulder onto the floor with a loud slam.

Crystal let out a gasp as Gold groaned in pain as he sat up and put his hands on his back.

"Hey, ow…What the hell was that for?" Gold grumbled as Sapphire came over and shoved Gold's face into the floor.

"I had heard the stupid cat had returned." Sapphire said with an annoyed smile as Gold struggled to lift his face from the floor.

Crystal sweatdropped again as Red rubbed his sore neck. "I guess they don't get along too well?"

"Hm, you can say that."

"I heard ya went up the mountains to train for four months, not like I cared or anything." A grin appeared on Sapphire's face as Gold started sweating nervously.

"Let's just see if that training was worthwhile." Sapphire said while cracking her knuckles causing Gold's Meowth ears to stick up in fear.

* * *

"AAAHHHHHH! Uncle! Uncle!" Gold cried in pain with Sapphire standing on top of him, yanking his arms back.

"Hah! You went up to Mt. Silver for four months of training and now that you're back, you can't even beat me in a battle? You're sucha wimp!" Sapphire said confidently as Gold tried to glare up at her.

"This isn't a battle, this is a wrestling brawl! Now get off me!" Gold cried as Sapphire smirked before releasing him.

"As expected, you really didn't get any stronger." Sapphire said as a mad-mark appeared over Gold's head.

"What is with you people and pestering me about that? First Green, now you, what is it going to take for you all to just leave me alone!" Gold shouted.

"Maybe if you'd just die, we would all leave you alone." Red said in a teasing tone as Gold glared over at him.

Crystal felt the urge to sigh in exasperation, but could only stare at Gold. It's been a month since Gold had even acknowledged Red. It seemed as if Gold had put everything on pause, even his and Red's fights, while working on whatever he was doing in his room. She couldn't understand why she felt happy to see him yelling again.

"I know, let's have a duel!" Sapphire announced as Gold looked at her with a sweatdrop.

"We'll do a series of challenges and we'll see just how much stronger you've gotten. If you can defeat me in eleven out of twenty challenges, I'll acknowledge that you have gotten stronger."

Being as competitive as he is, a determined grin appeared on Gold's face. "All right! You're on!"

Crystal gave in a let an exasperated sigh. Gold could never back down from a challenge. Whether it was fighting Red, or fending off dark Green.

She looked down at her hands, remembering that she had to settle things between her and Gold later. No matter what it took, she'd do it.

* * *

Sapphire's first challenge was a simple Pokemon battle. Unfortunately, due to Rono the Aron's quadruple resistance against Aitaro's normal Scratch attack, Gold found himself losing the first challenge, much to his embarrassment.

"You really are a loser, aren't you?" Sapphire smirked as Gold's clenched fist trembled. A confident grin appeared on his face as he faced the looked back over at the younger girl.

"Name the next challenge. We'll see who the loser really is."

Red and Crystal let out yet another sigh of exasperation as the two competitors commenced with the next challenge.

The next few challenges were all physical contests. Gold had beaten Sapphire in doing the most push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups in thirty seconds.

However, Sapphire had beaten him in arm wrestling, as Gold's muscles were tired from all the last few challenges and had Sapphire slam his arm down, hard, on the table with a loud slam.

Crystal thought that was a little unfair, but just excused the whole 'challenge' business as useless. Red was keeping score of how many wins each of them got, though he had accepted this responsibility unwillingly.

The next challenge called for who could eat the fastest, most likely due to the fact that both of them didn't want to stop for lunch and decided to make a contest out of it.

Sapphire ended up being the winner as she gobbled down her lunch in mere moments, leaving Gold with a stomachache for eating too fast.

The score was tied, but Gold was determined to beat Sapphire in her little game.

They started again with a race around the house, where they would run around the house ten times. Gold barely managed to win that one, but lost the next round where they had a drinking contest to see who could go without using the bathroom the longest.

The challenge continued with a tree-climbing race. Although Gold was the Meowth, Sapphire beat him rather easily as she was accustomed to doing fieldwork with her dad.

With the score was in Sapphire's favor but Gold was able to turn it around when the challenge called for them to capture a wild Farfetch'd, without battling it or using pokeballs. His Meowth instincts came in handy on that one, as he was able to creep up on it without much noise and wrestle it to the ground.

Gold gained another point by beating Sapphire in a thumb war, much to her frustration.

As the challenges continued, Crystal became aware of how silly they were getting. From a staring contest to who can last doing yoga without falling asleep and then to who could last the last the longest with wasabi in their mouths. Crystal winced seeing Gold spit the tortuously spicy contents from his mouth, his face pretty red, making Sapphire the winner of that challenge.

They went from a jump rope contest to a game of Jacks and then started another race on who could clean the floors the fastest. (They're using a cloth to scrub the floors while running bear-style. See Shugo Chara for reference, they have a couple of scenes when they're doing it)

While the two continued their cleaning race, Crystal viewed the whole challenge business as a silly little game now as she sat at the coffee table writing a paper for one of her classes.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous." Crystal said with a sheepish expression while sweatdropping as the two of them raced down the hallway.

"Oh, it was ridiculous when they first started," Red replied while popping a couple of almonds into his mouth. "At least they're helping to clean up around here."

"I don't understand why they're doing game-like things as challenges. It has nothing to do with how strong Gold had gotten on Mt. Silver." Crystal said.

Red smiled. "You don't get it, do you?"

Crystal looked at him with a confused expression. "What?"

"This is just how those two play with each other," Red said as Crystal widened her eyes in surprise.

"They act as if they can't stand each other, but the two of them are actually pretty good friends, though you probably couldn't tell at first. They just express it a little differently than normal people do. When they were kids, this is basically what they would do to have fun with each other. They enjoy competing with each other, though it seems a bit childish from an outsider's perspective."

Gold and Sapphire had finished cleaning and were now playing a game of battleship.

"G4." Sapphire said as Gold's eyes widened in horror.

"NO! How did you know that was where my last battleship was?" Gold cried in defeat.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out. G as in the first letter of your name and 4 as in how many letters are in your name. Someone has an ego." Sapphire said in a taunting tone as a mad-mark appeared over Gold's head.

Crystal couldn't help but smile at how the two of them got along. Though what Red said was true, that it would seem like they were at each other's throats from an outsider's point of view. But after taking a closer look, Crystal could see a child-like giddiness in both of Gold and Sapphire's eyes. They two of them really were having fun and enjoyed spending time goofing off together.

She couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of Sapphire's relationship with Gold, though she quickly pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

"Who usually wins?" Crystal asked curiously.

"It's not like between me and Gold, so the results vary a bit. It could go either way." Red said.

"Why is that?" Crystal asked as Red looked up at her.

"Why is what?"

"How is it that you can always beat Gold? I know you're pretty strong, but…oh, nevermind. I'm probably just over thinking the topic." Crystal said smiling sheepishly while waving her hand in the air.

Red stared at her for a moment before looking away, guilt clearly shown in his red eyes.

He narrowed his eyes, remembering what everyone said about the Pikachu and the Meowth.

'That…'

"I win!" Sapphire cried slamming her four cards down on the floor, interrupting Red's thoughts. "Looks like I'm the champion at go-fish!"

Gold hung his head while grumbling, "It was luck."

Sapphire looked up towards the ceiling while putting her hand under her chin thoughtfully.

"Let me see…if I'm not mistaken, that was the nineteenth challenge. So that means…"

"The last challenge is winner takes all!" Gold cried causing Crystal to sweatdrop.

'That means that the other challenges were totally irrelevant. Making the other challenges a waste of time…' Crystal thought to herself as Gold and Sapphire set up the final challenge.

Though she couldn't fight the urge to smile, seeing how much fun the two were having despite that.

The final challenge apparently was a showdown in a video game called Pokemon Brawl.

Once they had picked their fighting Pokemon, Sapphire looked at Gold with a confused expression.

"You chose Pichu? Pichu?"

"And what's wrong with Pichu?" Gold asked.

"You're going to get creamed." Sapphire stated.

"We'll see." Gold smirked.

Sapphire, being the tomboy she was, chose a fighting type for such a game, that being Blaziken.

A little into the battle, Gold seemed to be only taking damage from Sapphire's attacks as she attacked him in several combos.

Then when she least expected it, Gold's Pichu suddenly charged up a huge amount of energy and charged straight at Blaziken with incredible speed and power, giving Sapphire absolutely no time to dodge. To her surprise and horror, the move was a special move that could land an instant K.O.

"W-What just happened…?" Sapphire said in complete shock as she dropped her controller.

Gold immediately shot straight up and pumped his fist into the air. "Take that! Who's the loser now?"

"T-That's…You must have cheated! I know it!" Sapphire shouted as Gold's smile immediately turned into a frown.

"I did not! I just new a secret that you didn't! Don't blame me that you didn't know!" Gold shot back.

As the two continued bickering, Crystal turned to Red who was jotting some notes down. "So, who won? Not counting the winner takes all rule that is."

Red glanced down at the score that he had written down and was surprised to see that including his victory in the last challenge; Gold had actually won 11 out of 20 challenges. Making Gold the overall winner.

Crystal looked at the paper and widened her eyes in surprise before looking over at Gold and Sapphire, who were still arguing about the game.

Red quickly crumpled up the paper and threw it over his shoulder. "Of course, what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

Crystal couldn't help but giggle as Gold and Sapphire finally stopped arguing and fell to the floor exhausted.

"Man, I'm exhausted!" Gold said with a grin on his face.

"Me too. I'm starving too!" Sapphire said as Crystal glanced at the clock and was surprised to see how much time had gone by as it was already 5:30.

"Well, it's pretty close to dinner, so why don't you stay and eat with us?" Red offered as Sapphire's smile broadened.

"Is it really okay?" Sapphire said hopefully as Red turned to Crystal.

"It's no problem, right, Nagareboshi-san?"

Crystal shook her head and smiled. "Nope, no problem at all."

"Yay!" Sapphire cheered. "The _real _winner deserves a good meal after all."

"What! Your obviously can't count, 'cause I know for a fact that you didn't win! What about winner takes all?" Gold shot-back.

"You obviously cheated so it's an automatic win for me!" Sapphire said as the two started playfully arguing again.

* * *

As Crystal worked on dinner, she couldn't help but go through a few scenarios on how she should apologize to Gold in her head. Like what should she say and how should she say it.

Gold was unpredictable and wasn't sure if she could get a serious response from him.

She furiously shook her head. No! She told herself she'd apologize no matter what! And she never went back on her word, no matter how precarious the situation.

A small sigh escaped as she stopped cutting the vegetables for a moment. 'I just don't know…'

"Hey!"

Crystal let out a shriek of surprise to see Sapphire standing behind her with a questionable expression.

"Oh, sorry. You just surprised me." Crystal said as she felt her heart pounding against her chest.

Sapphire just shrugged before leaning on the counter as Crystal continued chopping the vegetables.

"So, how is it living with those two? Must be a pretty noisy house." Sapphire chuckled.

"Yeah, it was at first. But now…the house has been unusually quiet for a month now." Crystal said, slowing her chopping pace.

Sapphire looked up at her curiously. "Huh?"

Crystal stopped again and looked down with guilt emanating from her crystal blue eyes.

"It's complicated, but Gold had been unusually quiet for a whole month. Excluding today of course."

Sapphire looked at her in surprise. "Gold? Quiet? Those two don't go together at all."

Crystal couldn't help but sigh again as she started chopping again, catching Sapphire's attention.

"Are you okay? You seem kind of out of it."

Crystal didn't respond as a sly grin appeared on Sapphire's face.

"You **_like_** him don't you?"

The cutting knife suddenly came down hard on the chopping board with a loud slam as Crystal looked at Sapphire with a mix between embarrassment and disgust.

"Are you kidding me? There is absolutely, positively no way that I could **_ever_** like him. We're too different." Crystal said stubbornly, though there was a blush evident on her cheeks.

Sapphire merely chuckled, not buying what she was saying. But of course, who would by the way she was acting?

"Something obviously happened between the two of you to make Gold go quiet. But whatever it was, just go confront him about it! Seize the day!" Sapphire said enthusiastically while pumping her fist into the air causing Crystal to sweatdrop.

Although Sapphire seemed to be a bit naïve on the topic, Crystal knew that she was right. She had to confront Gold on this if they were to ever work things out.

"Thanks, I needed that." Crystal said as Sapphire gave her a grin, showing her fang.

"Anyways, the real reason I came in here was to tell you to hurry up! I'm dying of hunger!" Sapphire cried as Crystal sweatdropped again.

Once dinner was set, Sapphire and Gold devoured their meal in mere seconds, settling for one more challenge against each other. Although it ended in a draw as both had stomachaches for eating too much, too fast.

Red shook his head before letting out an exasperated sigh. "You guys are hopeless."

After getting over their stomachaches, Sapphire quickly bid farewell, apparently forgetting that her dad was expecting to be home a few hours ago. Although it would only be short-lived as they would see her when school started up again considering she was coming as the new transfer along with Dia.

'This school year is going to be very interesting…' Crystal said to herself.

"Man, I'm going to be sore in the morning." Gold said stretching his tired limbs before letting out a rather loud yawn.

"Gol-" Before Crystal could call out to him, Gold had already trudged tiredly upstairs to his room.

* * *

Falkner leaned back in his chair and put a hand to his head after having a fairly long chat with Riley. "You must be very pleased with yourself, seeing as things are going they way you'd want them."

Riley chuckled. "Why such a tone?"

"Why not ask your conscience, if you even have one. I swear, Riley, you come across as this carefree individual but deep down you're just downright twisted." Falkner said through narrowed eyes.

Riley held up his hands innocently while chuckling. "You got me. But really, the moment I've been patiently waiting for is drawing closer. So close I can almost reach up and grab it. But for now, it still hangs just above my reach, and may be hanging there for a few more years."

Falkner shook his head in dismay. "I just don't understand you sometimes. Even if someone gets hurt in this, you wouldn't care. Just like what happened to Diamond."

Riley's eyes darkened at the reminiscent of that time before a small smile appeared on his face.

"Indeed. I've always been naturally selfish and proud of who I am," Riley said folding his arms.

"If I can make it happen, I won't feel guilty about any sacrifices that had to be made to get to the end. Even if that meant pushing my brother to the breaking point all those years ago or erasing all those folks of their oh-so fond memories."

Falkner shot him a threatening glare as Riley looked at him with a wolfish grin. Falkner's Noctowl also threw him a glare. Riley knew it was a touchy subject since he himself had erased Falkner's first lover's memories and talked about it in such a mocking tone. He knew he was pushing things, but still didn't fell guilty about what he did.

"Don't get me wrong, I hate myself for it sometimes. But in my mind, it is all perfectly necessary. I won't deny it; I am a twisted individual. But in time you'll understand why I'm doing such what you would call 'cruel' things."

Riley smirked as he rubbed his chin. "I guess this just proves how deeply cursed I truly am."

Falkner remained silent as Riley stood up and walked over to the sliding door, opening it as a small breeze gently blew through the room.

Riley closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply, feeling the cool spring breeze wash over his body.

"You feel that, Falkner-san?" Riley asked as Falkner looked at him puzzled. "Feel what?"

Riley turned around, his usual carefree grin back on his face though a dark aura still hung over him. He said nothing more as he walked back over to his desk and put his hat back on his head.

"It was nice chatting with you, Falkner-san. We should really get together more often. But for now, the head of the family calls. Remember to pass that White Day gift to Crystal-chan."

As Riley headed out, Falkner stood up. "Riley!"

Riley paused. "Do you plan to stop me, Falkner-san?"

Falkner continued to glare at him as Riley waited for his answer.

"Just remember, whatever the result the future brings, be prepared to deal with the consequences." Falkner said as Riley narrowed his eyes, rolling his hand into a fist as it started glowing with aura beside him.

"Just be aware that one of these days, someone is going to let you have it. It may be me, or it may be Cyrus, I don't know. I won't stand beside you, but I won't stand against you." Falkner said as Riley's expression softened to a grateful smile.

With that, Riley stepped out of the room and walked down the stone path towards the Head of the Family's chamber, waving without turning back.

Falkner let out a sigh before sitting back down and slumping down in his chair when Lucario let out a grunt. Falkner looked over at it as Lucario motioned with his head towards the door.

"Eavesdropping were you?" Falkner said as the door slid open, revealing a sullen-looking Dia.

"I-I'm sorry, Falkner-niisan, but..."

Falkner shook his head as he walked over to Dia and patted him on the head.

"I've always known my brother was a twisted person. But deep down, he just wants what everyone else wants." Dia said as his fists started shaking beside him.

Falkner looked down at him sympathetically before looking over towards the direction where Riley had gone and narrowed his eyes.

'Whatever this comes down to, just be prepared for the consequences, Riley.' Falkner repeated in his mind as the wind howled outside.

* * *

Crystal was standing in front of Gold's door once again, determination sparkling in her crystal blue eyes. After meeting and talking with Sapphire, she finally built the courage to finally talk to Gold about their little mishap. She was determined to apologize and make everything right between them again.

She kind of blushed at the thought of her situation kind of being like something between a boyfriend and a girlfriend.

She quickly shook off her nervousness and brought her hand up to knock. After the first few knocks she still didn't get an answer. She called out his name; still no answer.

"Gold?" Crystal called again as she slowly opened up the door to his room, only to find his room a mess with Gold nowhere in sight.

Crystal's shoulder's drooped in defeat as she let out a sigh. 'I guess it's just not…'

"What are you doing?"

Crystal let out a shocked cry before whirling around to find herself face-to-face with Gold.

Gold had a curious look on his face, wondering what Crystal was doing standing in front of his room.

Crystal's heart was pounding uncontrollably in her chest as she opened and closed her mouth with no words coming out. She mentally slapped herself, seeing herself as a total coward unable to talk things out with him. In the past, she was never nervous about sorting out problems with friends. So why was this situation any different?

Gold stared at her, waiting for an answer as Crystal's face's temperature rose higher and higher the longer Gold's amber eyes bore down at her.

'If you don't say anything, nothing will change!'

"I'm sorry!" Crystal finally forced out while bowing, much to Gold's surprise.

"Whatever went on that came between us…I'm sorry. It's just…" Crystal paused as Gold just stared at her with anticipation.

"I hated it."

"W-What?" Gold said in complete shock, not expecting an answer such as that.

"I hated…how distant we had become." Crystal finished as Gold's expression softened. "Even though you're completely annoying, a pervert, and a complete idiot at times…"

"Ah…Okay, I get it…." Gold said exasperatedly while rubbing the back of his head, wondering if Crystal had a point to this.

"…I actually missed that this past month. It what makes you, you I guess. It bothered me a lot more than I expected. I guess…It's because…I actually…Viewed you as an important friend and I hated not being able to talk to you." Crystal said while blushing slightly. "If you're still mad at me, I-I'll understand. I was being unreasonable."

Gold remained silent as Crystal clenched her fist over her chest, feeling her heart just pound faster and faster with anxiety with each passing moment. She couldn't bring herself to look up at him. She didn't understand why he wasn't saying anything. Was he that mad at her?

"Uh, who said I was mad at you? I was never mad at you." Gold said in a matter-of-fact tone as Crystal stared at him in bewilderment.

"W-Wait, what?" Crystal said in disbelief. "T-Then why were you ignoring me and basically avoiding me for the past month?"

Gold looked to the side while rubbing the back of his head. "Well, I thought **_you_** were mad at me. I mean, you were the one giving me the cold-shoulder and all."

Crystal widened her eyes in shock before looking down in guilt. "I'm sorry…"

Gold stared at her for a moment before he started snickering.

"W-What's so funny?" Crystal demanded, snapping her attention back on Gold as he started laughing.

Crystal was about to say something when Gold reached into his pocket and placed something on top of her head.

"Eh?" Crystal said as she tentatively took the object down from off the top of her head and was surprised to find a small finely crafted pokeball-shaped object. It was a beautiful light blue and seemed to be made out of glass, but felt much more sturdier and lighter. Crystal's eyes sparkled along with the pretty object. It was so smooth to the touch and upon closer inspection, Crystal saw that the little Pokeball had the exact features of an actual one and also had some other marking all around it, such like that of a Kyogre's or a Groudon's. She also noticed an engraving just above the button. C.N. was written there and was surrounded with a slightly crooked star.

"You…Why?" Crystal said in awe as she looked up at Gold.

"What's today's date?" Gold asked.

"March 14th."

"Exactly!" Gold said as Crystal pondered it for a second before realizing; this was a White Day gift to her from Gold. Crystal looked from the gift up at Gold, unable to believe that he gave her a gift such as this.

Gold lazily scratched his cheek with an awkward smile on his face. "Yeah…Kurt-jiji helped me make the little thing out of a Blue Apricorn. But I had the make the engravings myself. I don't know how many times I cut myself while carving that thing. Sorry if it looks amateurish."

Crystal realized that was the reason he had so many bandages on his hands and the constant runs to the bathroom. She could tell from the design that Gold had tried his absolute hardest to make it look the best, even if it did look slightly crooked. And now that Crystal thought about it, Gold's expression never resembled anger but seriousness. He really was trying to make her present the best that he could. Her eyes started trembling in emotion as she hid them with her bangs.

"But I don't understand why you did this for me. I mean, I never gave you a Valentine's Day gift." Crystal said looking away guiltily.

Gold chuckled before going into his room and quickly rummaged through a drawer for something. He came out and showed Crystal a small package wrapped with a golden ribbon.

Crystal's eyes widened in shock as she stared at the small object in disbelief. "That's the…"

Gold grinned. "The mochi you were planning to give me?"

"H-H-How did y-you-?" Crystal stammered as Gold chuckled once more.

"I found it on the ground after you left to go to the lady's dressing room at the spa. You must have dropped it without noticing. But I'm touched that you were actually planning on giving me something for Valentine's Day. You must really like me." Gold said in his cocky tone while smirking at her causing Crystal's face to go beat red.

"It's not like that, you perv! Besides, I gave everyone else a Valentine's Day gift if you recall!" Crystal shouted before Gold placed a hand on her head and ruffled her dark blue hair.

"That's the super-serious-gal I know!" Gold grinned, as Crystal's blush softened before a small smile graced her features.

She looked down at the small gift in her hands and gently caressed it to her chest. "Thank you, Gold. I love it, thank you so much."

Gold smiled softly at her before reaching out to Crystal and placed a hand gently on the back of her head. Crystal looked up at him curiously before he slowly pulled her towards him as he leaned down towards her.

Crystal's eyes widened in shock as Gold got closer and closer, causing her face to light up.

'Wait, is he going to-!'

Before Crystal could react, Gold planted a soft kiss on her forehead. Crystal stared dumbfounded at him for a couple moments before turning bright red, her eyes wide with shock. She opened and closed her mouth though no words managed to make it through as Gold just grinned at her.

"Y-You…!" Crystal managed as Gold caressed her cheek and leaned towards her again, causing her to squeak in surprise and jerk slightly backwards.

"Oh, were you expecting something…a little more intimate?" Gold said seductively while leaning in again.

!SLAP!

Red winced at the sharp sound that echoed from upstairs, causing his Pikachu ears to pop out briefly.

"PERVERT!"

Red let out a sigh as a small smile appeared on his face. "Looks like everything is back to normal with them."

Gold held the left side of his face gingerly as Crystal glared furiously at him.

"Ow…Why did you have to get violent all of a sudden?" Gold whined.

"You were the one who decided to get all perverted all of a sudden." Crystal said folding her arms and turning her back on him.

Gold groaned in annoyance as he gently rubbed his throbbing cheek. Crystal looked over her shoulder at him, still slightly blushing with an annoyed expression.

"Did you like it?"

Gold stared at her for a second before smirking. "Well when you put it like that…"

"Not **_that_**, you pervert! I meant did you like the mochi?" Crystal said blushing furiously as Gold smiled blankly at her.

"Um…Actually I…didn't eat it yet."

"You left it sitting in the package for over a month without refrigeration? That's gross!"

"I'll just eat it now."

"Ew, no! It's obviously spoiled by now! When were you even thinking of eating it?"

"Uh…I don't know."

Crystal let out an exasperated sigh while rubbing her head. "How about this, I'll just make a new one for you. Will that be okay?"

Gold blushed slightly while looking over to the side with an embarrassed smile. "S-Sure. Yeah, that sounds good."

As Crystal walked down the stairs with Gold walking behind her, she couldn't help but smile with a little blush tinting her cheeks.

"Alright, it's go time, rat-boy!" Gold shouted once he entered the room where Red was as Red just stared ahead with an annoyed expression.

"Just when I thought you'd forget about this stupid little quarrel of yours." Red said with a bored tone as a mad-mark appeared over Gold's head.

Crystal let out an exasperated sigh from the kitchen while preparing another ice cream filled mochi as she heard several crashes come from the main room.

'There goes the house again…' Crystal sighed.

She then gingerly brought up her gift to look at it before remembering the kiss Gold gave to her on her forehead. She blushed at the thought while smiling a little.

Crystal suddenly caught herself and quickly pushed those feelings aside, trying to force the blush away that seemed to be permanently on her cheeks.

Though she had to admit that she actually kind of enjoyed the feeling, although she'd never confess it out loud.

"I know I'm going to regret asking this, but…what happened to the door…again?" Falkner said finally back home as he came through the doorway, his eye twitching in annoyance.

Both Red and Gold sweatdropped before smiling nervously at him.

"Welcome back, Falkner…" Red said smiling sheepishly.

'Yep, this year is definitely going to be interesting…'

**To be continued...

* * *

**

_Sapphire Sohma - age 15 (Yay! A new character! :D)_

Oh my gosh, I cannot believe I actually finished this chapter. It's been forever, right? But yeah. I know this chap seemed like it was supposed to focus on Sapphire, but no, that's the next chapter. X3 Heheh...I have evil plans for that chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this and if somehow, SOMEHOW you have a copy of the 4th chapter of this story, I would love to have a copy, 'cause I threw mine out the window. T^T I basically just threw the middle portion of this chapter together and focused more on the beginning and end of this chap, that's where most of my attention was, as you can tell. If you guys are still out there, please review! :D

Oh, and before I forget, please, please, _PLEASE_, do not message me asking when I'm going to post the next chapter up because honestly, I don't know. I've got a life outside of fanfiction and I don't spend every living second of my life making chapters. And in all honesty, it was getting kind of annoying hearing "when are you going to put up the next chapter?" all the time, no offense of course. Like I said before, I'll get to it as soon as I can, so please be patient. Thank you!


	13. An Interesting Start

**I know, I'm really slow on the draw here, but when classes dump all this crap on you, that's where most of your attention should be. But I haven't been too interested in Pokemon Special right now and my interest in it is slowly dying. Though with lots of encouraging reviews, I may be able to continue. If not, I might as well just discontinue this fic because I have little to no interest in it anymore and without reviews, it just shows how not that many people care about this fic. I don't like this chapter and I think it lacks in many areas, but here it is. Hope you enjoy nevertheless.**

**Characters:**

Note: Their high school holds four years, like American high schools so I can put in more characters that way. Sorry if this disturbs you a little.

Crystal Nagareboshi - age 16  
Red Sohma - age 17  
Gold Sohma - age 16  
Falkner Sohma - age 25  
Diamond (Dia) Sohma - age 14  
Sapphire Sohma – age 15  
Yellow de Viridian Grove – age 17  
Marley Sawashiro – age 16

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or Pokémon_

**An Interesting Start**

It was now officially the start of the new school year as Crystal saw several new faces amongst the students. It was strange seeing how she was two years older than the freshman. Though she's a junior, it seemed as if she was a freshman just a few months ago.

"Can you believe it? We're actually juniors!" Yellow said ecstatically. "And all the new freshman are so cute!"

"Great, that means they are going to be even more annoying little brats running around." Gold said in a whiny tone, sitting in one of the empty desks as the students chatted with excitement around them.

"Oh, you mean others just like you?" Crystal asked as a mad-mark appeared over Gold's head.

Crystal glanced out the window to see the new spring breeze blow the cherry blossom petals all around outside, making the ground look like it was coated in a nice pink blanket.

'The start of a new year…I wonder what it holds.' Crystal thought to herself, a soft smile gracing her features as she just watched the cherry blossom petals scatter in the wind.

"By the way, where is Red-senpai? I didn't see him walking with you this morning." Yellow asked curiously.

"He left a little earlier to help out the welcoming committee. One of the other seniors dragged him into doing it." Crystal said.

* * *

Red let out an exasperated sigh before rubbing his temples. Why? Why did he agree to help with the orientation? Maybe it's because he just can't bear to turn anyone down, no matter what the request may be. Falkner would probably tell him he was too nice.

His job was to welcome the incoming freshman, though it was the most exhausting thing he ever had to do. Nearly all of the girls who he had talked to had fallen for his "charms". Though he still didn't quite understand it himself, most girls thought he was cute and a gentleman. All he had done was be friendly with them and now he had several more admirers to add to the ones he already had.

'I don't know how much more I can handle…' Red said to himself in exasperation before he heard a familiar voice call him from behind.

"Red-niisan~!"

Red couldn't help but chuckle as he turned and gave Dia a smile. "You don't know how happy I am to see someone who won't stalk me after first meeting me."

Dia gave him a blank, yet confused smile as Red sweatdropped. "Never mind."

"Anyways, how do you like the school so far?"

"The cafeteria food is delicious!" Dia said taking out a sandwich and munching on it with his happy-go-lucky grin.

'I should have known that would be his answer.' Red said to himself with a dull expression.

"Oh! Sapphire-neesan!" Dia called while waving happily as Red looked up before stiffening in utter shock.

* * *

"Hm, Red-senpai sure is busy." Yellow said with a hint of disappointment in her tone.

Crystal noticed this and looked up at Yellow as she fidgeted slightly with a small blush on her cheeks.

Yellow flinched when Gold reached over and poked her on the cheek. "Aww, does someone have a crush on Red-_senpai_?" Gold asked with a smirk causing Yellow's face to flush bright red.

With that, Crystal smacked Gold on the back of his head. "Leave her alone. Like you would know anything about that kind of stuff you perv."

"Sheesh, what a tyrant…" Gold grumbled earning him another whack on the head by Crystal while Yellow tried to fight off the blush that was burning on her face.

Marley just watched the scene while sitting at her desk, taking in some relatively interesting information.

'The Sohma boys seem to be quite popular…' Marley said to herself while a small smile appeared on her usually nonchalant face.

"Oh, that reminds me," Crystal said tapping the bottom of her fist into her palm. "I almost forgot to mention that two other Sohmas will be joining us this new year."

"Really? Girls or boys?" Yellow asked enthusiastically.

"One freshman boy and one sophomore girl." Crystal said as Gold let out a rather loud groan.

"Wow, I'd really like to meet them." Yellow said as Marley turned to Gold

"Yes, so go find them, Sohma." Marley said staring at Gold with a blank, emotionless look.

"Wha? Why me?" Gold said, his eye twitching slightly.

"They're **_your_** family. Why wouldn't you want to go find them?" Marley asked.

Gold grunted in annoyance before leaning on his hand that was propped up on the desk. "Plenty of reasons…"

A madmark appeared over Crystal's head before she reached out and grabbed Gold by the back of his collar.

"Come on, stop being a baby and let's go look for them. We'll see you guys later!" Crystal called back to Yellow and Marley as she dragged Gold out the classroom.

Yellow and Marley stood staring after them before glancing over at each other with puzzled expressions.

* * *

Gold heaved a sigh as he walked beside Crystal down the hallway. The school was buzzing with activity with many students rushing around and showing the new freshmen around.

"Why do we have to look for them **_now_**? Can't we just wait until after school?" Gold asked in a rather whiny tone.

"It would be nice if we were the ones to show them around. Besides, unlike you, I do want to see them." Crystal said as Gold scoffed at her statement.

As Crystal trudged on, Gold looked over to the side and spotted a rather attractive group of girls talking near a window.

Gold stopped and gave them a grin, causing them to giggle.

Crystal looked over her should and spotted Gold apparently looking flirtatiously at a group of girls.

Upon seeing this, something hot and painful shot through Crystal, unable to understand what it was. Before she could understand why she felt this way, she stomped over to Gold and punched him over the head.

"GACK!" Gold cried before grabbing his head. "The hell are you doing woman?"

"I should be asking you the same thing. We're supposed to be looking for Sapphire and Diamond." Crystal said harshly while crossing her arms.

Gold felt a shiver run up his spine at her glare.

"Sheesh, lighten up, super-serious gal. I was just kidding around."

A mad-mark pulsed on the side of Crystal's head, feeling her temper start to flare at Gold's carelessness.

The group of girls sweatdropped as the two started trading insults. Deciding to let the two have their privacy, silently slipped past them and hurried down the hall.

As the two continued bickering, they failed to notice two familiar faces walk over to them.

"Ah, there you guys are!" Dia said with his air-headed smile of his while jumping onto Gold's back.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing? Get off!" Gold shouted while flailing around, trying to throw Dia off his back.

"Sheesh, we could hear ya guys all the way down the hall." Sapphire said walking over.

"Ah, hey there, Sapp-" Crystal paused after turning around to look at Sapphire as a look of shock and confusion came over her face.

"Huh?" Gold said before freezing in place, completely shocked to see Sapphire wearing the boy's uniform.

"Yo!" Sapphire said with a toothy grin as both Crystal and Gold sweatdropped.

"Wh-Why the hell are you wearing the **_boy's _**uniform?" Gold asked while wearily pointing a finger at her.

Sapphire grunted in annoyance before crossing her arms. "Did you really expect me to wear something so girly? Besides, the boy's uniform is a lot more comfier."

Crystal let out an exasperated sigh, unable to bring herself to talk any sense to Sapphire.

"It looks good on her." Dia said as Gold grabbed him and pulled him off his back before giving him a noogie.

"Both of you are total idiots!" Gold said as Dia struggled to break free from his grip.

Red walked over to the cause of the commotion while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"You guys really know how to cause a ruckus," Red said with a sheepish smile before placing a hand on Sapphire's head. "Just try to behave."

"Right!" Sapphire chirped happily as both Crystal and Gold sighed exasperatedly.

"What abominable thing is this…?"

Sapphire looked over her shoulder to see a boy with pale skin and black hair hiding underneath a baggy, white hat.

He also wore dark rimmed glasses over his dark ruby red eyes. A deep frown was plastered on his face, causing Sapphire to narrow her eyes.

Upon seeing the boy, Red flinched and held up his hands in defense. "Please, not another one of your ridic-eccentric outfits, Hyoudou-kohai*." (*Kohai = underclassman)

The boy pushed his glasses higher up onto the bridge of his nose, causing it to flash. "That's not why I've come, Red-sempai."

"Who is this guy?" Dia asked while nibbling on a cookie he pulled out of his pocket.

"He's the guy who had Red wear that ridiculous, frilly outfit at the Culture Festival." Gold said with a few snickers.

"Ridiculous? You obviously don't know what beauty is!" the boy said pointing accusingly at Gold before turning his attention on Sapphire. "And you! What is the meaning of your attire?"

Sapphire lifted an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

A mad-mark pulsed on the side of his head as he pointed at her uniform. "Don't play dumb! Why do you wear such an attire that was intended for **_males _**at this school? It's reprehensible to have a female even think of wearing such clothes! Who do you think you are, part of a host club or something?"

Sapphire narrowed her eyes, causing Red, Gold, and Dia to flinch. They knew things wouldn't turn out well if Sapphire's temper flared, even more so than Whitney's destructive capabilities.

"Who the hell are you anyways and what gives you the right to tell me what I can and can't wear?" Sapphire asked putting her hands on her hips.

"Ruby Hyoudou of class 5B, second year," Ruby said in a challenging tone. "I'm just stating what should be considered common sense. There is a reason why there are separate uniforms for the girls and boys. Do you see any men wearing the girl's uniform at this school?"

"Hyoudou-kohai, please, it really isn't that big of a deal." Red said, trying to quell the dispute without it spinning out of control.

'Besides, I think Sapphire would rather kill herself than wear the girl's uniform.' Red thought to himself with a sweatdrop.

Gold let out a sigh before rubbing the back of his head nervously. "This could get ugly."

Crystal glanced wearily from Ruby to Sapphire, unable to engage in such a dispute. Not that she really wanted to get involved anyways.

"I'd appreciate it if you stayed out of this Red-sempai. Though I do realize that this is one of your relatives, I find it unacceptable for a young woman to be dressing in men's clothing," Ruby said as Red stared at him in complete shock.

"Judging from her unruly hair and grimy appearance, anyone can easily deduce how little this girl knows about the importance of appearances much less beauty."

Sapphire clenched her sharp teeth dangerously as she balled her hands into a tight fist.

"Hey, cut that out! That was completely unnecessary!" Crystal said, finally having enough of what Ruby had to say.

"I'm just telling it like it is," Ruby said putting a hand on his hip with a smug look on his face. "If you think I'm wrong, then why aren't you wearing the boy's uniform, hm?"

Crystal opened her mouth, but quickly clamped it shut, unable to think of a comeback.

"Shouldn't we stop this, Gold-niisan?" Dia asked worriedly.

"Quite frankly, I don't think we **_can _**stop what's about to happen. Sapphire isn't someone who will let whatever this jerk said go." Gold said feeling a bit worried himself.

"Well, you've been awfully quiet. What? Don't you have anything else to say in the matter?" Ruby asked tauntingly to Sapphire.

Sapphire remained silent, causing Ruby to smirk.

"I should have known. Someone as unappealing as you probably doesn't have the brains to come up with a-"

!PUNCH!

Crystal gasped as Gold winced at the sight of Sapphire punching Ruby across the face.

Ruby fell to the floor with a loud thud before sitting up and gingerly cupped his throbbing cheek.

"Ow…my face," Ruby whined before glaring angrily up at Sapphire. "You ruffian! How dare you do that to my face!"

"Shut the hell up ya b*****!" Sapphire shouted every word was spit out like fire.

"Sapphire, calm down." Red said as he placed a hand on Sapphire's shoulder.

Sapphire merely swatted his hand away before glaring up at him with such rage that Red had ever seen from her. "Stay out of this!"

"Not good," Gold said before turning to Dia. "Go get Falkner, he should still be here from orientation."

Dia nodded before quickly rushing down the hall to locate his older cousin.

Sapphire furiously reached down and grabbed Ruby by the collar, yanking him up to eye level.

"Your little lecture has really started to piss me off. Who do you think ya are spouting all that crap, thinking I'll change my mind after all of those insults of yours?" Sapphire demanded as Ruby tried desperately to pry her unmovable grip on his uniform.

"S-Stop it! You're wrinkling my uniform!" Ruby cried.

"What happened to that cocky attitude of yours, huh? Not so high and mighty now, eh?" Sapphire scoffed as she started shaking Ruby by the collar.

"Sapphire, cut it out! This is going too far!" Gold said stepping in.

"Stay out of this, ya stupid cat!" Sapphire shot-back as a mad-mark appeared over Gold's head.

"Don't call me stupid, wildchild girl!" Gold shouted as Sapphire dropped Ruby to the ground and stomped over to face Gold instead.

"Is that a challenge I hear? If it is, you're going to regret it!" Sapphire said with fire blazing behind her.

"Bring it on!" Gold said also with a fire burning behind him.

Red facepalmed while letting out an exasperated sigh while Crystal couldn't decide whether to be relieved or annoyed.

After Ruby recovered from his little shake-up, he quickly got up and started dusting off his uniform. "Sheesh, such a barbarian."

Sapphire paused before looking back over at Ruby, causing him to flinch.

"That's it! You're dead, sissy boy!" Sapphire shouted as she charged towards the ruby-eyed boy, much to his horror.

"Gah! Stay away from me!" Ruby cried.

However, as Sapphire charged blindly at Ruby, she accidentally tripped over her own feet and was sent hurtling at full speed towards him.

'Oh no!' Crystal thought in a panic as Red desperately reached out to try and grab Sapphire.

As Sapphire fell towards Ruby, she looked up into his ruby red eyes, ruby and sapphire eyes clashing.

A memory suddenly flashed through her mind, though she couldn't quite make out the details.

All she could make out was someone pulling her into an embrace, though she felt as if that wasn't quite right.

However, before Sapphire could sort out her thoughts, she collided headfirst into Ruby, causing a cloud of smoke to erupt.

Gold swore under his breath as Crystal felt her anxiety build.

As the smoke cleared, Ruby let out several coughs while waving a hand in the air to blow back the smoke. "Ugh, what the hell was that? Don't tell me that…"

Ruby blinked a couple times in shock as Crystal and Gold sucked in a gasp.

* * *

'That was too close…' Red thought in both relief and exhaustion as he sprinted down the hall towards the bathroom.

"I thought I said for you to behave!" Red said to a small brown lump of a pig in his arms.

"Tell it to that jerk! He's the one who started it!" Sapphire oinked as a Swinub.

Red let out yet another sigh as he hurriedly entered the boy's bathroom.

"Hey! Don't bring me in here! This is the boy's bathroom!" Sapphire cried while blushing from embarrassment.

"Please, Sapphire. Don't start that after what happened." Red said as Sapphire grunted in frustration.

He looked around to make sure the bathroom was empty and quickly ran into one of the stalls, placing Sapphire on the toilet seat.

"I'll be outside to stand watch." Red said before throwing Sapphire's clothes on top of her and closed the stall door.

* * *

"I can't believe we got out of that with all of our hair." Gold said while trudging back to class.

"It took a pretty decent story for Ruby to finally believe us. We pulled it off though. Good thing Red was able to grab Sapphire before Hyoudou saw anything." Crystal sighed.

A thought struck her and she glanced over at Gold. "Hey, Gold,"

Gold paused and turned towards her. "Hm? What?"

"A while back, you talked about how you and Sapphire got surrounded by dozens of Mamoswines. And when Red ran around the corner, he was holding something brown. So Sapphire is a Swinub, right?"

Gold stared at her blankly for a second before laughing amusingly. "You stopped me for that? You really are super-serious."

Crystal looked away stubbornly before proceeding to stomp on Gold's foot, causing him to cry out in pain.

"…And violent." Gold grunted under his breath.

"What was that?" Crystal asked giving him a death glare, causing Gold to sweatdrop.

"N-Nothing."

* * *

Red waited patiently outside the bathroom, making up silly excuses for students who needed to use the bathroom.

He especially felt bad for lying to a green-haired student who looked as if he was about to die if he didn't use the bathroom soon.

However, it would be a bigger issue if Sapphire were to transform back while he was using the bathroom.

A sudden poof sounded from behind the door, indicating Sapphire had finally transformed back.

After some shuffling, Sapphire lightly knocked on the door. "Is it safe to come out?"

"Yeah." Red said stepping away from the door to let Sapphire out.

Sapphire burst out of the bathroom, gasping for air as Red looked at her with a confused expression.

"I don't understand how anyone can breath in there!" Sapphire gasped.

"I always thought that smells doesn't bother you, nature girl." Red said as Sapphire glared at him.

"It is definitely **_not _**nature in there." Sapphire growled.

Dia led Falkner over to where they were standing, Falkner looking none too happy.

Falkner briskly walked over to Sapphire and bonked her on the head, a little harder than necessary.

"Hey! Ow! That hurt!" Sapphire cried but was quickly silenced with a dark look from Falkner.

"Be a little more careful next time in the future. Not just anyone can be trusted knowing our 'condition'." Falkner said as Dia stiffened.

Sapphire hung her head while heaving a sigh. "Yeah…sorry."

Falkner smiled lightly and patted her on the head before turning to leave but suddenly stopped and looked over at Red.

"Before I forget, I thought it'd be fair to warn you that **_he _**came." Falkner said darkly.

Red's eyes widened in shock as he felt his whole body tremble.

* * *

"Shouldn't we check on Red and Sapphire to see if they're okay?" Crystal asked as Gold shrugged.

"They'll be fine, as long as we keep Sapphire away from that jerk." Gold said as Crystal couldn't help but agree.

She couldn't believe that someone would degrade Sapphire just because of the clothes she wore. Though she had to admit that it was quite a shock to see Sapphire dressed in the male uniform.

As the two walked out of the building, Gold suddenly froze causing Crystal to almost bump into him.

"Hey, what are you…?" Crystal stopped when she noticed a horrified look on Gold's face; something she had never seen before.

His body started trembling as he gritted his teeth, his eyes slanting like a cat's.

Crystal slowly looked over where Gold was glaring and was shocked to see a tall man with spiky, blue hair.

He wore a business suit and seemed to be in his mid twenties. His eyes cast a very dark and sinister feeling, giving him a rather intimidating presence.

Crystal involuntary shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep herself steady.

'Why…why do I feel such a strong force coming from this man, it feels…frightening.'

Gold stepped forward and protectively put his arm out in front of her.

"What are you doing here, Cyrus?" Gold growled as he narrowed his eyes.

Crystal's eyes widened in shock. 'This man…'

_"Yeah... But I can't go against Cyrus' decision."_

_"I suggest that before you regret getting in involved with the Sohma, **get out**__. I have a feeling that Cyrus is trying to use you."_

_"Cyrus got mad. He was enraged and wouldn't allow their marriage. And he hurt Falkner-niisan's eye."_

_"Falkner-niisan cried... but, he didn't blame Cyrus. He didn't blame him..."_

"Cyrus…?" Crystal said in a hoarse whisper as a small grin appeared on Cyrus' face.

**To be continued…maybe

* * *

**

I put in a few other anime references in here, about two I think. See if you can name them. Here's a hint: one has to do with what Ruby said to Sapphire and the other has to do with Ruby's last name.

But other than that, I don't really feel satisfied with this chapter, since I just forced myself to make it and didn't have that much fun making it (except for the Ruby/Sapphire fight scene). This may or may not be the last chapter, depending on whether or not my interest in Pokemon Special suddenly comes back. Thanks for reading!


	14. Tension

**So, thanks to many wonderful reviews and peeps who don't want this story to end, I have decided to keep going. (We'll just see how far I get) I'm sorry this took incredibly long, but summer and the new school year was and is incredibly busy. Projects and midterms are very evil things. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!  
**

**Characters:**

Crystal Nagareboshi - age 16  
Red Sohma - age 17  
Gold Sohma - age 16  
Falkner Sohma - age 25  
Diamond (Dia) Sohma - age 14  
Sapphire Sohma – age 15  
Yellow de Viridian Grove – age 17  
Marley Sawashiro – age 16

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or Pokémon_

**Tension**

"What are you doing here, Cyrus?" Gold growled as Crystal could feel the tension between the two start to rise in the air.

Cyrus took a step forward, causing the hair on the back of Gold's neck to bristle.

The blue-haired man grinned before he suddenly started laughing well humorously, causing both Crystal and Gold to stare at the man dumbfounded.

"What's with the hostility?" Cyrus said with a grin as he patted Gold on the head. "Since Sapphire-kun and Diamond-kun are new students here, I decided to come to the orientation. I also wanted to see you and Red since you two weren't present at the New Year Banquet."

Gold stared at him blankly, confused as to why Cyrus was acting all chummy-chummy with him. Usually, Cyrus would nearly puke if he touched him.

Crystal blinked a couple of times before Cyrus looked over at her. "Ah, and you must be Crystal Nagareboshi-san. I've heard so much about you from the others."

"Ah, uh, um…yes! Pleased to meet you!" Crystal stammered in shock as she bowed to be polite.

Cyrus smiled warmly before bowing as well. "No, the pleasure is all mine."

Gold couldn't quite grasp the whole situation as to why Cyrus was acting like this. He certainly didn't act like this on normal basis. As the head of the family, Cyrus had to be treated with the utmost respect, respect Gold felt the man didn't deserve. The man was cruel and merciless, having no problem in beating him or any of the other Zodiac members.

It was obvious that Cyrus has a God-complex, viewing himself superior to those in the Zodiac and dealt with them any way he pleased. It was that very reason why everyone in the Zodiac feared him.

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the man as Cyrus went on with some small talk with Crystal. Though Gold admitted he wasn't the brightest, but he just couldn't piece this situation together. It was just so odd; he didn't know what to make of it.

Gold started furiously scratching the side of his head, feeling frustrated and confused at the same time.

"Gold? Are you okay?" Crystal said in concern, stopping Gold from damaging what was left of his head.

"Y-Yeah! It was just an itch," Gold said with a sheepish smile.

He looked back at Cyrus, who still wore such a fake smile, that it made him sick. 'Why…? Why is that b****** really here?'

"I'm sorry, but I have to get going now. There are still a few things I need to take care of for orientation. It was a pleasure meeting you, Cyrus-san." Crystal said with another bow.

"Likewise," Cyrus said bowing as well before Crystal ran off to attend to her duties.

Once she was of view, Cyrus let out an amused chuckle while narrowing his eyes darkly.

"What a nice girl."

Gold turned his glare back over at the man. "Cyrus, what the hell are you-"

!SMACK!

Cyrus cut Gold off by striking him across the face with his hand with a loud crack, sending him crashing to the ground.

Gold let out a grunt before wiping the blood trickling down his chin with the back of his hand. He glared back at Cyrus, who was now looking down at him with a dark, threatening glare.

"Show some respect, you filthy monstrosity."

Immediately, Gold's eyes slanted like a cat's once more while gritting his fang-like teeth. He knew Cyrus was only pretending to be nice. But for what reason, he wasn't sure.

Seeing the defiance glowing in Gold's amber eyes, Cyrus narrowed his gaze before reaching down and yanking Gold up by the collar. Gold let out a grunt, feeling a hostile growl rising in his throat. However, he forced it down, knowing that acting like an animal wouldn't do him any good in this situation. Cyrus already viewed him as a monstrosity and he didn't want to give him any more reasons to refer him as such.

"Hm? It seems as if your freedom has deteriorated your discipline," Cyrus said darkly as Gold tried in vain to pry Cyrus' hands off his collar.

"May I remind you of your place? You are not of the Zodiac, nor will you ever."

A choking sound escaped Gold's mouth as he glared up at the man who had done nothing but torment him for nearly all of his life. He hated it. He hated how he could do nothing but watch as the man in front of him treated him like dirt. No matter how hard he tried, he could not defy Cyrus.

"Cyrus, let him go!"

Gold's eyes widened in shock as Cyrus glanced over to see a familiar red-eyed boy.

Red stood not too far away as he looked over the situation with an anxious gaze. Despite his bold interference, Gold could see the fear radiating from Red's crimson eyes.

"Red? Well, this is indeed a surprise," Cyrus said before tossing Gold to the ground.

The amber-eyed boy hissed in pain before sitting up to glare up at the blue-haired man.

Cyrus paid no head to the outcast and casually walked over to Red.

Alarms went off in Red's mind, telling him to run. But Red stood his ground and clenched his trembling fists. He narrowed his gaze as Cyrus neared, a bead of sweat dripping down the side of his face.

"My, you've certainly grown, Red. It's been a while since we've seen each other," Cyrus said while opening up his arms. "I was worried when you did not show up for New Years."

Red's trembling increased as Cyrus stopped right in front of him with a wicked smile. "You realize that I do not appreciate being stood up, especially at New Years. That's the time where all of the Zodiac gather; to be together…with their master."

Despite his internal warnings, Red stood his ground though his mind started to go blank. With Cyrus at such a close proximity, he couldn't contain his fear as well as he thought he could. He also found it particularly difficult to breathe all of a sudden.

Cyrus dropped his smile, giving Red a chilling stare. "Hm, it seems as if you're lacking the discipline I had taught you over the years. I guess we'll have to revisit that time…"

Red looked absolutely horrified now as he unclenched his fists, letting them tremble freely at his sides. Memories of being locked up in a dark room started flooding into Red's mind, causing his stomach to plummet. He was completely paralyzed and unable to come up with a single thought.

'I…I can't…' Red said to himself as he closed his eyes like a child awaiting punishment.

"You're pathetic."

Red's eyes snapped open as he glanced over to see Gold now standing and dusting off his uniform. He then shot him a condescending smirk, his golden eyes slanted like a cat's.

"You can't possibly help anyone with a face like that. Who are you kidding?" Gold said though it was obvious he was just as fearful. "I mean come on, the guy is just as intimidating as a little-"

In a flash of movement, Cyrus struck Gold in the stomach, forcing him to fall to his knees. Gold felt as if all the air in his body was pushed out of his body in a single moment as he sputtered and coughed, desperately trying to catch his breath while clutching his mid-section.

Red's eyes were wide with terror as he glanced from Gold to Cyrus. He broke out in cold sweat as Gold suddenly coughed up a few drops of blood.

Cyrus merely gazed down at the pathetic scene in front of him with antipathy before slamming his foot against Gold's head, forcing him against the pavement.

"Ugh…!" Gold grunted as he tried to push himself up, but was prevented from doing so when Cyrus applied more pressure with his heel.

"Filthy scum. I just polished these shoes," Cyrus said in a disgusted tone as Gold started to writhe in pain.

It felt as if his head was going to explode and wondered just how far Cyrus would push him before he did.

Footsteps were suddenly heard and Cyrus glanced over to see Riley, his usual fake smile on his face.

"Ah, I was wondering where you had wandered off to, Cyrus-sama." Riley said oblivious to the current situation. "Ah, long time no see, Red-kun, Gold-kun."

"Riley…?" Red said in utter shock, never having been so glad to see the sadistic man in his life.

Cyrus narrowed his cold, blue-gray eyes at the man before slowly withdrawing his foot from Gold's head.

"I'm sorry to spoil your fun, sir, but we really must be going now. It is almost time for your daily check up from yours truly!" Riley said in a too happy of a tone.

An irritated grunt just escaped from Cyrus' mouth before turning towards Red with such a chilling gaze, it sent violent shivers down his spine.

"Looks like we'll have to talk about this later then."

Red forced himself to swallow despite how dry his throat felt before Cyrus slowly turned his back on them and walked away without another word.

He shot Gold one final glare, causing the boy to smirk both spitefully and nervously as he picked himself off the ground.

Riley bid the too farewell before following after Cyrus while putting his hands in his pant pockets.

Once the man was out of sight, Red and Gold's nerves slowly started to settle and their breathing evened out.

Eventually they allowed their shoulders to relax before turning to glare at the other.

"Do you have a death wish or something? He's not going to let that comment slide." Red said, his voice much more confident now that Cyrus was gone.

Gold frowned, his eyes still in its cat-like state. "Me? What about you? You think he's not going to incarcerate you later for stepping in like that?"

It was evident that Red's anger was rising as his hands went back into fists. "I only did that to save your sorry hide."

"Hah! Now that's a laugh! 'Cause you certainly did a great job of it while standing there like an idiot when I was kissing the pavement earlier." Gold sneered as Red narrowed his eyes.

"Don't act so superior. You were just as afraid as I was." Red shot-back.

"Shut up! Besides, I never asked you to 'bail me out', nor did I need it!"

"Really? It sure didn't look that way from my perspective."

"You never see anything besides your own damn perspective! That's why you'll never understand!"

"It's because I'm not you! I can't read your mind! Maybe if you'd talk about it, maybe I could understand!"

"Like hell you would!"

"For once, would you stop being so stubborn?"

"Right after you quit acting so high and mighty all the time!"

"Would you just listen-"

"No! You listen!" Gold shouted waving his arms violently to his sides. "Do me a favor and just stay out of my business! I don't need you bailing me out of situations. I'm not some stupid little kid anymore!"

Every fiber in Red's being told him to strike the idiot as anger and frustration boiled within him. However, he managed to suppress it and force it down before he let it take control.

Letting his frustration out in a haggard sigh, Red turned his back on Gold.

"There's just no getting through that ridiculously thick skull of yours," Red said in dismay before walking away indignantly as Gold watched him.

Once he was out of view, Gold sank to his knees, gritting his teeth so hard they could have broke if they were made of glass. He slowly brought up his hand to wipe away the blood on his lip before his gaze fell upon the black and white beads fastened securely on his wrist.

The sight made him narrow his eyes more before gripping the beads with his other hand.

Part of him wanted to rip the beads off and burn them, but he knew he couldn't. Not in his current condition…

Slowly, he released his grip, letting his hand fall to his side. He furiously ran a hand through his hair, trying desperately to calm his nerves.

"Damn…he really knows how to piss me off," Gold grumbled before getting back onto his feet.

A small breeze lightly blew through Gold's hair as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He gazed up at the sky, watching the breeze push the fluffy, white clouds along.

'The clouds and me are a lot alike…' Gold said to himself. 'Get pushed around wherever the wind takes them. They don't have a say in where they go.'

* * *

Red slammed the side of his fist against the brick wall as he glared down at the ground.

Breathing heavily, he ran his hand through his spiky hair and slumped against the cold, hard bricks.

His bangs fell over his eyes, shadowing his expression. He felt extremely agitated and didn't know if he could look at Gold again without clobbering him.

"That idiot," Red said bitterly. "Why can't he ever listen…?"

A memory suddenly flashed across his mind before immediately pushing it away. He didn't want to go down that road again. If he did, there would be no way to turn around again. It was painful to let it go, but even more so to keep a hold of it.

'There's no use in keeping something that's broken…'

"Red-senpai?"

The voice snapped Red out of his thoughts and looked up startled. However, he quickly relaxed when he saw that it was only one of Crystal's friends. She had a look of concern written all over her face with a hint of pink on her cheeks.

'What was her name…? Yellow was it? I think that's it,' Red contemplated mentally.

He didn't know her too well, but was aware that she was much more quiet and timid compared to Crystal who would always take the lead.

Red had assumed that she didn't like him too much after what happened at the Culture Festival since she had did nothing but avoid him.

"A-Are you all right? Crystal was worried, so I offered to go search for you," Yellow said as Red let out another sigh before rubbing his temples. He inwardly thanked the heavens that she hadn't walked on him a few minutes earlier. In such a sorry state, Red didn't think he'd be able to face her again afterwards.

He inhaled deeply before glancing over to the side with a defeated look in his eye. "I…Yeah. Everything is…fine."

Yellow wasn't convinced and slowly came over to Red's side. She half expected Red to shy away from her, as he never gets too close to girls for reasons unknown to her. However, she was surprised when he made no move to leave.

"Um…is there something bothering you? I mean, you…you seem down, I think. If there is something…you can…you know, talk about it. I mean, if you want to that is," Yellow stammered her blush progressively growing on her cheeks.

She mentally smacked herself for sounding like a babbling idiot. It was difficult enough to face him after that embarrassing scene at the Culture Festival. 'Oh, why did I have to offer to go look for him when I can hardly talk to him, much less look at him?'

A small smile appears on Red's face, finding her stammering slightly endearing. He refused to use the word cute as he thought it sounded weird.

He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him in shock.

"I just had a little argument with that idiot relative of mine, that's all. You don't need to worry about me." Red reassured her with a smile.

Yellow glanced down while shifting nervously. "Oh, o-okay."

Red's face softened before patting the blushing girl on the head. "Thanks for your concern though."

Yellow's eyes trembled slightly as her heart hammered in her chest. As Red turned to leave, Yellow gazed longingly after him, wondering why she felt so strange around him.

* * *

Crystal hadn't expected orientation to be so eventful, nor had she expected to meet the head of the Sohma family. The meeting caught Crystal off guard, as she never would have expected Cyrus to act so nice and polite. He didn't seem as controlling or cruel as the others had described him.

However, she couldn't help but feel slightly suspicious, especially the way that Gold had acted upon seeing the man. She had never seen him look so anxious and on-guard. Not to mention the tension that had risen in the air.

Deciding to push her suspicions to the side, Crystal looked forward to the New Year.

School certainly would be much more interesting now with Sapphire and Diamond around. Although, Crystal inwardly cringed when she found out that Sapphire and Ruby would be in the same class. She wondered how long it would be until they were at each other's throats again. Probably the second they set foot on campus.

In Diamond's case, Crystal had the pleasure of meeting his best friend since elementary school, Pearl. The boy was definitely a character and had as much energy as Sapphire if not more. The two seemed to be pretty close, though Crystal questioned whether Diamond was okay being smacked around by Pearl most of the time in their manzai acts. Though it was obvious that they made quite the team.

Crystal had also noticed how Diamond would every so often turn his head to the side as if looking for someone. She hadn't stayed with him long enough to see if he ever found the person he was looking for, but decided to ask him about it later.

As the day went on, Crystal noticed how Red and Gold had been gone for quite a while and she was beginning to get worried. Especially since the last time she saw Gold was when Cyrus had appeared.

Yellow had offered to search for the red-eyed teen, much to Crystal's surprise. However, she did not stop her when she ran off.

Once orientation was finished, Crystal felt a wave of relief that the chaotic, unpredictable day was finally over.

Red had come back a little while later after Yellow had gone to look for him. Though he claimed to be fine, Crystal noticed that his ruby, red eyes seemed a less vibrant. He wore a smile, but it was weary and wasn't as enthusiastic as he was that morning.

Something was obviously bothering him or wearing on his nerves, as Crystal could have sworn she saw a Pikachu peak out from behind a bush.

But Crystal figured that if he wanted to talk about it to her, he would. She figured it had something to do with Gold and she wondered if he was all right as he did not come back.

"Hey! Why don't we play some badminton to celebrate the new school year!" Sapphire exclaimed while pumping her fist into the air.

"But why badminton?" Red said with a sweatdrop.

"Wy, Wynaut!" Dia chirped.

"Dia, please," Red said while rubbing his temples.

"All right, so let's pick teams," Yellow said once they got to the courts.

As Sapphire went to go ask one of the teachers for the equipment, Marley took out a book and sat down on one of the benches.

"I will sit this one out."

"But if you do that, the teams will be uneven." Red said as Marley ignored him and continued reading, much to his exasperation.

"I asked if Pearl wanted to hang out with us, but he had other things to do." Dia commented.

"Well if that's the case, then perhaps I should sit out too…" Red sighed while running a hand through his hair.

Crystal looked over at him worriedly. If Red was to sit out, he would only be closing himself off even more, which Crystal refused to let happen. She figured that it would be best for him to participate, to lighten his mood.

"Come on, Red-niisan. It'd be more fun with more people," Dia said as Red sighed once more.

"Look I don't-" Red started before Crystal cut in.

"Why don't I go find Gold so we can have an even amount of people? He couldn't have wandered off too far. Besides, we still need to wait for Sapphire to come back with the equipment." Crystal said.

A cross expression suddenly appeared on Red's face, surprising Crystal slightly. However, before she could question it, it was gone.

Red shook his head exasperatedly before shrugging. "Fine."

* * *

"Nya!"

Crystal let out an exasperated sigh after finding Gold in his usual sulking place on the roof of the school.

"Huh? What are you still doing at school? Didn't it end early from Orientation?" Gold asked while absently stroking a Skitty with several other cat Pokemon hanging around him.

"We're going to play some badminton to celebrate the start of the new school year." Crystal said as Gold gave her a puzzled look.

"Huh? Why badminton?"

Crystal shrugged. "It was Sapphire's idea. I came looking for you because we have an uneven amount of people playing."

"Is Red there?"

Crystal was taken aback by the question. Something had obviously happened when she left, but whether it was because of Red or Cyrus she wasn't sure. But what she did know was that she didn't like seeing Gold like this. She had to cheer him up somehow.

Without a second thought, she reached out and grabbed Gold by the ear, yanking him onto his feet.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! What the hell, woman? Cut that out! Are you trying to pull my ear off?" Gold cried as he made several frantic movements.

"Come on, you can play with your kitty friends later," Crystal said while dragging Gold down the stairs.

Gold continued to squirm in her grasp, earning them some odd glances from students walking down the halls.

* * *

After several minutes of pulling Gold down to the badminton courts while he caused a scene, Crystal finally managed to make it back to her friends.

"Found him." Crystal said before releasing her grip on Gold's ear, allowing him to fall face down on the ground.

Everyone sweatdropped before Sapphire enthusiastically had everyone choose a chopstick to decide who was on a team.

The first team consisted of Red, Sapphire and Yellow. While Gold, Crystal and Diamond were on the other.

Red and Gold stared at each other for a brief moment before glaring, determined to not lose.

"If you think I'm gonna let you win, think again." Gold said darkly as a fire raged behind him. _I'm not gonna let you get away with what you said back there._

"We'll just have to see about that, now won't we?" Red said equally dark with a fire raging behind him as well. _And you're still just a stubborn idiot._

The two glared at each other with such intensity that the others could have sworn they saw sparks.

"Um, l-let's all just do our best," Yellow said nervously while trying to ease the hostility that rose between the two Sohma boys.

"Whatever, let's just start!" Sapphire said pumping her fist into the air.

With that, the game of badminton commenced.

Though it started out as a team effort, Red and Gold eventually took over the courts, leaving the others to watch the heated match between the two.

"This isn't much of a team sport, is it?" Crystal sighed as the two exchanged shots.

A few minutes passed and Red had already scored several points over Gold, much to the latter's frustration.

"At this rate, we're gonna lose…" Dia sighed.

The way things were going, Crystal knew that Gold and Red would be at each other's throats in a short while. It would definitely put a damper on their time together as a group.

An idea suddenly popped into Crystal's head as she quickly leaned over to Dia and whispered something in his ear.

After explaining, a dopey, yet mischievous smile came over Dia's face.

He quickly scampered over to Gold, who was too distracted by his match with Red to notice. It wasn't until Dia jumped on his back, that Gold took notice of his presence.

"What the hell! Get off you idiot! Can't you see I'm in the middle of something!" Gold cried as Dia covered his eyes with his hands.

As Gold struggled to get Dia off of him, Red took the opportunity to score a point on him.

However, Crystal quickly took Gold's place on the court and skillfully hit it back to him.

Red widened his eyes in surprise. Before he could question her, he was suddenly tackled the ground by Sapphire.

"Quick! Hit it back, Yellow!" Sapphire instructed as Yellow clumsily came forward and hit the birdie back the best she could.

"I got it!" Dia said, jumping off of Gold's back and attempted to smack the birdie back, but missed and ended up getting hit in the face by the birdie.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Sohma-kun!" Yellow cried as Dia just smiled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Crystal couldn't help but let out a few giggles before picking up the birdie and sending it back over the net.

"Yeah! Now it's on!" Sapphire declared with a huge grin.

Red and Gold just watched the game from where they were with unreadable expressions.

After watching the four hit the birdie back and forth for a while, a soft smile came over Red's face as he picked himself off the ground. In the heat of the moment, he had forgotten something important.

Just as the birdie was about to hit the ground, Red got back onto the court and hit the birdie back.

Sapphire looked over at him in surprise as Red gave her a reassuring smile.

Upon seeing this, Sapphire grinned and gave him a thumbs up before returning her attention back onto the game.

Crystal turned to Gold, who was looking the side, rather dejectedly.

"Hey!"

Gold perked up and glanced over to see Crystal facing him.

"What are you doing just standing there?" Crystal called as Dia did his best to defend their side of the courts. "Come on, we need you!"

Gold widened his eyes in shock. A grateful smile came over his face before being replaced by his usual cocky grin.

After a moment's hesitation, Gold finally joined the game, smiling and laughing like the others.

At first, Red's only concern was trying to prevent himself from being beaten. He realized after watching everyone that this was far more precious, something he had longed for since he was a child.

'Yeah…this is enough.'

Not far from the courts, Cyrus watched the group play their hearts out with an icy glare from his vehicle parked along the curb.

"Disgusting." Cyrus growled before rolling up his window and ordered the driver to head back.

Riley noticed the intimidating glare on Cyrus' face and grinned amusingly. "Is there something bothering you, sir?"

Cyrus narrowed his eyes before leaning back in his chair. "That girl…is utterly repulsive."

* * *

Crystal felt a chill run up her spine before sneezing after their badminton game had ended.

"You okay?" Gold asked while wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Yeah, it's just getting a little chilly out here." Crystal said.

A mischievous grin appeared on Gold's face as he put and arm over her shoulder. "Not to worry, I'll keep you warm."

His grin abruptly disappeared as Crystal shoved her elbow into his ribs, causing the boy to fall the ground in pain.

"Looks like someone's feeling better," Crystal sighed as Sapphire and Dia laughed at their cousin's predicament.

Red couldn't help but crack a smile, feeling much more relieved after exerting most of his energy.

He knew that the fear he had felt for years was still inside him. Glancing over at Crystal, who was busy arguing with Gold, Red knew he would be okay.

As long as he was with these people, the fear locked up inside of him seemingly disappears.

'Thank you…'

* * *

I won't be putting _to be continued_ after each chapter anymore because I am not sure where it will end and if I will ever reach the ending I am hoping to achieve. I decided to add a Specialshipping moment, though it was difficult since I am not much of a fan of the pairing, but I hope it is satisfactory. Anyways, the last half of this chapter is really strange to me and I don't really like it. If anyone has any suggestions on how to make it better, I will be willing to listen. Again, I apologize for my extreme lateness, but this took months for me to think up and write.

I also want to thank those who reviewed the last chapter and that it was really encouraging to hear from you all. :)

I hope you enjoyed! Please review!


	15. Author's Apology

**Author's Note:**

Okay, I am terribly sorry to say this, but I am discontinuing this story. I don't want to sound unfair, but due to lack of reviews in the last chapter and of life situations I will be stopping the story. Without lots of reviews, I have little to no motivation to continue, especially when my interest moves around from one subject to another. I felt kind of cheated to see how I got 21 reviews on the previous and only 6 on the newest one.

I'm really sorry for those who really liked this story and I appreciate those who have reviewed and faved. I may or may not pick this up again, it all depends if I get my interest in this fic back. I don't like dropping stories, but sometimes it has to happen.

Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience. :(


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